My aunt (of the "Norwegian Maple") has been in Florida this week and has been sending me pics on her iPhone. It's been fun to identify the plants, or if they are unfamiliar, to look them up. I'll be posting most of them next week, wrapping up the last of these escapist, tropical themes before we move head-on into spring.
I was delighted with the photo she sent me above, as it's a nicer pic of Phoenix roebelenii than any of my own. The genus name should sound familiar since I blogged about its cousin, Pheonix dactylifera, just last week.
Here's a shot of a pygmy date palm, growing in a lackluster spot in Jean Nouvel's Parc del Centre de Poublenou. Pygmy dates, as the common name suggests, is a smaller version of the regular date palm. It's often used in containers or in small areas. It demands a regular supply of water but can handle both full sun and partial shade. You can eat the dates on this species, but they aren't as fleshy or sweet as the regular date palm.
Those of you New Yorkers may remember the June we had two years ago where it rained 25 days of the month. I had a desperate rant about it on NYPAOS and posted this photo of a rooftop bar. At the time, I was focusing more on this band of people, happily drinking a magnum of champagne, ignoring the deluge. I had failed to point out the Phoenix roebelenii.
Does the Norweigian Maple grow in Norway's Wood(s)? Is the Maple the wood in the Song???
ReplyDeleteI once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me...
She showed me her room, isn't it good, norwegian wood?
She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair.
I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine.
We talked until two and then she said, "It's time for bed"
She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh.
I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath
And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown
So I lit a fire, isn't it good, norwegian wood.