By Lenny Goldstein
The International Palm Society has a well-earned reputation for picking interesting venues for its Biennial Meetings. This year Vietnam was the choice, with an optional post-meeting tour to southern Thailand. Horace Hobbs, a member of both the IPS and SFPS boards, attended, and he presented a stellar report at the August 3 general meeting of the SFPS.
The tours ran from February 23 to March 9, and Horace provided his audience a thorough look at the pair of palm-rich southeast Asian countries. Right off the bat, those of us old enough to remember images of the long war in Vietnam were probably surprised to see the vibrancy and modernity of Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.
The Biennial Meeting group arrived there just as Tet, the lunar new year, was winding down. The Vietnamese know how to party; celebrations around Tet can go on for about three weeks.
Lots of palm species caught the eye. Among the first was Caryota monostachya, a clustering fishtail palm small enough that it wouldn’t overwhelm standard lots in southern Florida.
We also learned that the eight species of Wallichia, after lengthy consideration, have been sunk into the genus Arenga. As for the traditional Arenga species, A. westerhoutii is a formidable sight in Vietnam.
Horace then provided a good look at some of the species of Lanonia, a genus not formally described until 2011. A subtle bump on the underside of Lanonia leaves distinguishes its species from those of Licualas.
Surprisingly, though, despite Lanonias’strong resemblance to Licualas, they’re more closely related to Johannesteijsmannia. Rhapis species abound in the country, too, and, of course, spiny rattans — Calamus, Daemonorops, Korthalsia, and Plectocomia among them — are prolific. Possibly the most striking of the rattans was Korthalsia laciniosa, possessing distinctly diamond-shaped (rhomboid) leaflets.
One of the most stunning things the Biennial group encountered after relocating from Da Nang in east central Vietnam to Phuket in southern Thailand was not found in the forests, but rather in the sky: A total lunar eclipse on March 3.
Returning to earthly interests, the travelers also saw Maxburretia specimens, often observed clinging to limestone formations. A little further along, the hikers ran into Licuala peltata var. sumawongii, easily the most eye-popping representative of the genus to be introduced to southern Florida in many years.
Near the end of the trip, when the group visited Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife and Nature Education Center, they were welcomed by a wall featuring a painting of Kerriodoxa elegans, and some large specimens were observed in the park.
Following the program, Dave Lord conducted a lively plant auction, made possible, as usual, by generous sources. Following is the list of auction plants and donors:
Areca vestiaria ‘Orange Crownshaft’ . . . . . . David Lord
Carpoxylon macrospermum . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Lord
Caryota rumphiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairchild Garden
Chloroleucon tortum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Dickinson
Chrysalidocarpus baronii ‘Black Stems’ . . . David Lord
Gaussia attenuata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairchild Garden
Licuala sp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairchild Garden
The following items were donated for giveaway:
Germinated coconuts and Carpoxylon . . . . David Lord
Seeds of Coccothrinax borhidiana . . . . . . . . Armando Reyes
Seeds of Chrysalidocarpus pembanus . . . . Gloria Batule
Seeds of Copernicia rigida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Armando Reyes
Seeds of Kerriodoxa elegans . . . . . . . . . . . . (Anonymous)
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