re6ll CAIJLFIELD: BRISBANE GARDENS I07 research on tropical , and research Gasipaes), Caryota urens, Ch,rysalid,o- on special crops of interest to the de- carpus lutescens, Corypha u,mbraculi- velopment of Puerto Rican agriculture. fera, Warscewiczii, Elaeis One of the important projects of the guineensis, Raphia ped,unculata, and station since its foundation has been Scheeleazonensi.s. the introduction of plants for testing Some species have been introduced from all over the tropical world. because of their ornamental value, a The palms, which comprise ninety- good exaprple of which is one species,constitute a very important the talipot group in the station collection. palm (Corypha umbraculilera), the na- These are found distributed mostly on tional floral emblem of Ceylon. Others, the main station grounds.Some,.like the such as the African oil palm (Elaeis majestic Roystonea borinquena, guineensis), have been introduced be- cerlsiarutn, and. Acrocomia media, are causeof their economic value. native, but the majority are introduc- Many of the palms are labelled and tions from other tropical regions. are easily accessible. Upon request, Among the most interesting are Arenga when available, seeds are distributecl pinnata, Bactris Gasipaes (Guilielma free of charge. Palmsof fhe BrisbaneBotanic Gardens, FI. W. C.c.uLrrerl

Brisbane, capital city of the Aus- acres. Apart from displaying a great tralian State of , is situated array of tropical and sub-tropical trees in the southeast coastal corner o{ the and shrubs, the Gardens possessmany State midway between the 27th and 28th fine specimens of palms-in all 450 parallels of latitude South. Climatic con- plants of 58 different species.The ma- ditions are a combination of both tem- jority are growing excellently,although perate and tropical. The months of win- it can be noted with some that the ex- ter bring forth a Mediterranean-type treme dry winters erperiencedtime and climate of pleasantly warm, sunny days again have left their mark on the trunks, with cool nights, whilst the summer or the size of which have been greatly re- monsoon seasonof December to April duced during the bad seasons. produces hot humid weather with fre- The largest planting of any one palm quent fierce electrical storms accom- is that ol Arecastntrn Romanzollianurn panied by torrential downpours of rain. Iocally known as the oococos"or o'plume Annual rainfall is approximately 46 palm," of which about 200 plants are inches,the majority of which falls dur- scatteredthroughout the Gardens.Next ing the monsoon period. lar65estplantings are those of two Aus- The Botanic Gardensis situatedalong tralian native palms namely Archonto- the banks of the Brisbane River less phoenix Cunningham,iana (the pica- than half-a-mile from the centre of the been) and Lioistona au,straks (the city, and was first established in 1855, cabbagetree palm). The picabeen is a the then known area being about 9 delightful plant, being quick-growing and acres. To-day it is in the vicinity of 48 a most graceful subject. It doesnot pre- PRINCIPES [Vol. 5 g 6

57. Brisbane Botanic Gardens. Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana (leflt) in clump Iormation thought to have developed Irom a pot of seedlings or from self-sown plants from an early Iruiting; Ptychosperma Il[acarthurii (right) in the palm border. Photographs by H. W. Caulfield. sent the featheryappearance oI the Are- the lawn can be noted many ercellent castrutn but has a decided advantage sizeable clumps oI Chrysalid,ocarpuslu,- over this rival in that it is self-cleaning, tescens, greatly admired by botanists dead fronds being usually blown down from near and far; a thick clump of during any slight wind disturbance.No Arenga Engleri with its dull green foli- praise as a garden plant is too great age; slender plants of Dictyosperma for this native species.The local fan alburn; pleasing specimens oI Bu,tia palm, Liaistona australis, is found grow- capitataand its variety odorata; various ing wild in the mountain valley areas speciesoI Liuistona, Phoenix, and Sa- along most parts of the eastern coast- bal. A Lone Elaeis guineensis standing line of Australia. Under cultivation it about 25 feet is quite a feature although developsinto a rather sturdy customer, it does show signs of its resentmentof much different from the many willowy the cold nights of July and August when plants sometimes seen in nature. temperatures at grass level are often The main groupings of palms are down to 32oF. or below. Situatedprom- studdedover an eight-acresloping lawn inently beside a pathway is a single "Residence area re{erred to as Hill," specimen of Latania Lodd,igesii-this being below the Curator's Cottage,and fan palm never fails to attract attention along a small palm border closeby. On from the Gardens'visitors. l96rl LETTERS 109

Possibly the most outstanding fea- in the north of the State and makes a ture of all the palms growing in the most attractive pot plant. However, it Gardensis a large circular grouping of is sad to relate that Licuala Muelleri is Roystonea regid situated near the main hardly known in its own countryl also gateway. These specimens, at least 70 seedis .most difficult to procure. years old, are 40 feet in height with a Palms are and always will be a no- circumference measurement near the table feature of the Brisbane Botanic base of almost eight feet. Near relation Gardens" Jor Brisbane is the center of Roystonea oleraceadoes not thrive quite a large to'urist trade from the southern so well; the Gardens has three plants, states whose tourists expect to see lush all of which display definite evidence tropical foliage which is suggestedmore of the struggle for survival during ex- by palms than any other plant. tended drought periods. Throughout the area Phoenix rupi- cola, P. reclinata, and P. syluestris do IETTERS much to enhancethe beauty of the Gar- R. W. THOI\TAS dens. P. rupicola'could be said to be c/o GENER,\L DELIVERY the most graceful of the species being coNCoRD, C,{LIF. much more satisfactory grower under "There a are numerous points to the Brisbane conditions than the more knack of successfully transplanting a popular Phoenix Roebelenii. Growing large palm tree. For.instance,it took me on a moisture-retentive flat in the cen- years ter of the Gardens can be seen several twenty to find out that a large excellent plants of Liaistona chinensis. palm tree that has had many main roots Along the somewhat over-crowded severed must be set much lower in the border Rhapis excelsa has become na- ground than it was originally set." turalized.Arecastrum, Archontophoenix, and Liuistonia have added to their num- bers with self-sown specimens, whilst 'sssux*T';:frii".xl Corypha umbraculiler',r wages a battle I'ALM SPRINGS, CALIF. for room against Rhapis and Pandanus. "We are spending ten days or so in A massive specimen of lubaea chilensis southernSonora just relaxing, I am also humbles all about it, and nearby Pty- searching for palms, especially those cltosperma Macarthurii from New Gui- tolerant of high temperature and low nea displays its slender canes. humidity extremes. This is such a tre- Unfortunately two fine Australian mendously open and unsettlecl country palms Lictutla Muelleri and Lin,ospad,ix that to find anything in it is almost monostachya (Bacularia) have been hopeless,and to most of the inhabitants wrongly sited in a hard dry section of a palm is a palma! Specifically, I am the gardens and needless to say are looking for Sabal uresana-this is its growing poorly. Soon an attempt will native areaobut not a one has shown in be made to move them to the more con- any of the town sguares as yet, only genial surroundings of the palm border. Washingtonia and,Phoenix, and I think If native Australian palms are to win ac- I shall have to beat my way into some claim abroad" no better ambassadors canyons east of Alamos to find that could be chosen than these two. Licuala elusive palrna blanca. I will send photos grows naturally in the high rainfall areas if I find it.