Did you know that there are over two thousand
different species of palms? Probably the best known of these is the tall tree
bearing coconuts, but in fact, not all palms are even trees. Some are shrubs or
bushes and not all palm trees bear fruit.
When I was growing up in Australia, there
was a large palm tree growing in our front yard. It was tall and had a thick
trunk. Sometimes as youngsters we would try to encircle the trunk with our
outstretched arms. We would press our faces against the rough bark and reaching
out we would see if we could get our fingertips to touch. My memory says that it
took three of us to do this successfully.
At the time, we lived in the same house as
my grandmother and the tree was a source of annoyance for her. Strong winds
would sometimes blow the spiky palms down from the treetop littering the garden
path below. The pigeons who built their nests among the palms also left their
evidence on the path. On the odd occasion a pigeon would become disoriented and
find itself trapped in the chimney of the house and down into my grandmother’s
bedroom. My grandmother was a neat and tidy person and she found all this quite
distressing.
In Maui, the palm trees we saw were a
different kind. They were very tall with narrow smooth trunks. They must also
have had good root systems because even when the wind blew gustily, the trees
swayed but always appeared to be firmly planted into the ground.
I liked these palm trees for another
reason. Our condo unit was on the sixth floor and when I looked out from our
balcony, I could actually see the top of the nearest palm. Of course, from that
height, I couldn’t see the base of the tree. This was quite different for me
because when I am on the ground, I normally can’t see the tops of trees. It seemed an almost upside down way of seeing
things. I guess that it is all a matter of perspective!
Following are two pictures. The first is of
a row of palm trees along the walkway between Ulua and Polo Beaches. The second
is of the tall palm tree taken from our sixth floor balcony. Even at this
height one needs to look up to the top.
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| Row of palm trees |
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| Palm tree |
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