The Versatility of Palms and Cycads

While the coconut palm, like grass skirts, is an idyllic icon of island life, date palms, like the variety we see gilding our desert highways, evoke notions of a harsh land dotted with tented Bedouin pavilions and camels taking respite in the shade of a welcoming oasis.

[img]326|left|||no_popup[/img] Palms and cycads have acquired an extraordinary adaptive ability to grow in a wide range of climates and conditions. Although these trees thrive on the coast and in the deserts, they also can be seen growing amid the winter frost in the Sierra foothills or potted in the lobbies of the swankiest hotels in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas.

The adaptability of these plants derives from their long planetary history.

The cycad fossil record dates to the early Permian period, before dinosaurs ruled the earth. There is still a controversy among academics over older cycad fossils that may date back 350 million years to Carboniferous period during the Paleozoic era.

[img]327|left|||no_popup[/img] One of the first colonizers of terrestrial habitats, the cycad probably diversified extensively within its first few million years to adapt to the changing planetary conditions. Cycad fossils have been excavated in the regions where the planet’s supercontinents of Laurasia and Gondwana were once fused long before the global landmasses separated to form our modern continents. Evidence of cycads in the fossil record can be found in farflung reaches, from North and South America to Europe, China and even Antarctica.

Four thousand years ago, the Etruscans of Italy used fossilized cycad trunks as funeral monuments, placing them atop their tombs. Coal miners in the eastern United States used to find fossilized trunks and take them home to use as doorstops and good luck charms.

Cycads that are often confused with palms are actually conifers, which are more closely aligned with pines rather than palms. Many aboriginal peoples, including native Africans, Pacific islanders and tribes indigenous to California made bread out of the starch of the interior of the cycad. As a result ,some cycads became known as Hottentot bread, or what we know to today as the Sago palm.

[img]328|left|||no_popup[/img] Because the toxins found in the pith can induce Alzheimer-like symptoms, and in some cases, be fatal, Native Americans repeatedly soaked the cycad starch in water to leach out the poisons. Not knowing of the poisons, there are several accounts of Civil War soldiers who died after ingesting rudimentary bread made from cycad starch.

The California Fan Palm was an important resource for the Cahuilla Indians of Southern California, who called it maul. They used it for food, especially the fruit/nut, which they ground up as flour or made into a mush. They also soaked the pods to produce a sweet beverage and made jelly from the fruit.

[img]329|left|||no_popup[/img] The spongy pith in the center, sometimes boiled and eaten, was called maul pasun, or heart of the palm. The Fan Palm was also essential in construction, with the fronds being used for roof thatch while the leaves were stripped and incorporated into various weaving applications, including sandals.

The versatility of palms and cycads are almost unmatched in the Southern California. Dozens of varieties, like the King Palm, and the Sago Palm, which is actually a cycad, can be planted in the open sun or partial shade. They are hearty enough to brave freezing winter cold. If prepared properly, some palms have been known to survive frigid winter conditions as far north as Michigan.

Palms and cycads can be used to anchor a zeroscape garden that mimics the stark romance of the high desert or to accentuate the cloister of a tropical garden. Their ease of care has made them a fixture of parkways from L.A. to Palm Springs.

Gardeners and palm enthusiasts are often looking for fast growing trees. There is a variety of palm and cycads that fit the bill.

Professional landscapers frequently want to quickly establish an overhead canopy by planting faster growing palms that will provide protection for more delicate plant species sequestered in the understory of the garden. The canopy offers a warmer environment nearer the ground that can protect the more vulnerable plants from the hot sun and help to maintain humidity near ground level.

[img]330|left|||no_popup[/img] Interior designers seek a variety of shade and tropical palms like the Kentia, Rhapis, Ponytail and Fishtail as accents for every type of space from stylish living rooms with vaulted ceilings to chic foyers at fashionable boutiques. Not only do these plants have an ease of care, but they can thrive in a variety of lit environments.

Our greenhouse and nursery are filled with unparalleled selection of palms and cycads. We regularly get rare specimens from as far away as Hawaii and Florida. We are especially fond of unique palms and cycads that can add a sculptural aspect to your garden. Come by, and we’ll take you on a short tour through our little corner of Jurassic history.

­To learn more about any of the plants described in this article, visit our website at www.thejungle.biz or email me at carlos@thejungle.biz­.

Carlos Saez is the owner of The Jungle Nursery, a leading designer garden center specializing in unique sculptural plants, tropicals, succulents, bamboo and a wide selection of indoor foliage including orchids. The Jungle, 1900 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles. 310. 235.2875.