#arecaceae

The Costa Rica league of our sabbatical came right after our stay at the Peruvian School for Field Studies Centre, and as Costa Rica has its own local cuisine and use of plants, I wanted to take the opportunity to photograph and try whatever local food items I came across. One thing that struck me about Costa Rica was that even though the country is biologically diverse, my first impression was…

Visiting a place like the Peruvian Amazon provides an opportunity to experience delve into an experience a living rainforest culture that still manifests itself strongly in a traditional plant uses for medicines, crafts, and for food. This post records a few of the local plants I have had the luck to taste and photograph during the trip. Lucuma – El Oro De Los Incas I got to try fresh Lúcuma…

Trithrinax campestris

This is a slow-growing palm native to Uruguay and northern Argentina, and we have 2 different forms of it at the Ruth Bancroft Garden. One of these is multi-stemmed and has silvery leaves (pictured here), while the other is single-stemmed and greener. In fall, they burst into flower quite suddenly, with multiple inflorescences ringing the upper part of the stem. The flowers are very sweet-smelling and attractive to bees, and they are followed later on by round green fruits about the size of a large cherry. It is reported that in South America the fruits are sometimes fermented to make an alcoholic drink. It is a very handsome palm with good cold-tolerance (down to at least 20 degrees F, or -7 degrees C).

Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

A Machado’s Palm, also known as the Malayan Giant Fan Palm (Borassodendron machadonis), leaning out from the shade of surrounding trees to get better sun exposure in the botanic gardens. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

تاڑ / پالمیرا کھجور نام : عربی میں طار۔ فارسی میں تال۔ بنگالی میں تال۔ سندھی میں ٹاری کہتے ہیں۔ Hakeem Syed Abdulwahab Shah Sherazi (تحریر و تحقیق: حکیم سید عبدالوہاب شاہ شیرازی) نام انگلش: Name: Palmyra Palm Scientific name: Borassus flabellifer Family: Arecaceae درخت تاڑ پالمیرا کھجور Palmyra palm Borassus flabellifer पाल्मिरा पाम تاثیری نام: مقام پیدائش: مزاج طب یونانی: مزاج  طب…