James_Guam
Member
- 19
- 19/10/13
- 0
- 21
Greetings all!
I just wanted to say hi to everyone and introduce myself. My name is James, and I am a Chamorro from Guam who recently returned home to the island after a few years in the military (~13). During my time "overseas" I'd return to Guam every couple of years to plant more coconut trees, betelnut trees and to make cuttings of my pandanus trees to plant, which the leaves are used for weaving. Generally I've only been planting fruit trees, palm trees that I use the parts for either eating, or for traditional arts. I have about 20 coconut trees and 10 pandanus trees at the moment, all at different stages of growth. Some of the pandanus trees are full size, whereas others are kinda short. I didn't start planting decorative palms until this year, after deciding I should make my yard look a little -nicer-. I think the first thing that made me think about this was seeing bismarki palms planted in people's yards. Very stunning fan palm, and I thought it would make the front yard look pretty neat. So here's just a few pics of the palms that I have, some I sprouted myself, others I acquired from local vendors.
Licuala grandis palms purchased from a local grower
Pritchardia pacifica seedling showing first spike, seeds were gathered from trees lining the roads that the government had planted.
Adonidia merrillii variegated variety purchased from a local garden center.
Adonidia merrillii variegated variety, leaves
Pinanga insignis acquired in Palau. The mother plant had a deep purple crownshaft and lots of fruit on it. I was only able to find one that had already sprouted with a small spike showing, which was on September 1st, 2013. The rest of the seeds (I got six) were still in husks but dried out. It's October 22nd and this one has finally gone from little spike to its first set of leaves, which are about half an inch long. The remaining seeds were processed, and all have germinated, one which appears to have two seedlings springing forth. The color of these leaves is pretty interesting, not a plain green like the betelnut palms when they are seedlings, but has a reddish color along the margins, and pleats of the leaves.
Areca catechu seedling, Guam local red variety. The kernel or nut as it's called on Guam is a bright red color when immature and is generally chewed when it is fully mature. The nut has a fine granular texture and is preferred over the local white variety which doesn't have a fine texture and is less "potent".
Areca catechu, Guam local red variety, leaf up-close
Photograph of the local red variety's immature nut, showing the deep red color and small kernel size.
Areca catechu, Palau white variety. The kernel of the Palauan betelnut palm is larger, meatier, white colored, and gelatinous when young. It is preferred by islanders from the other Micronesian islands for chewing. These were obtained in Palau earlier this year.
Photograph of the Palauan white variety's immature nut, showing the white color and larger kernel size.
I hope you enjoyed the photographs! I enjoy seeing the pics you all post.
-James
I just wanted to say hi to everyone and introduce myself. My name is James, and I am a Chamorro from Guam who recently returned home to the island after a few years in the military (~13). During my time "overseas" I'd return to Guam every couple of years to plant more coconut trees, betelnut trees and to make cuttings of my pandanus trees to plant, which the leaves are used for weaving. Generally I've only been planting fruit trees, palm trees that I use the parts for either eating, or for traditional arts. I have about 20 coconut trees and 10 pandanus trees at the moment, all at different stages of growth. Some of the pandanus trees are full size, whereas others are kinda short. I didn't start planting decorative palms until this year, after deciding I should make my yard look a little -nicer-. I think the first thing that made me think about this was seeing bismarki palms planted in people's yards. Very stunning fan palm, and I thought it would make the front yard look pretty neat. So here's just a few pics of the palms that I have, some I sprouted myself, others I acquired from local vendors.
Licuala grandis palms purchased from a local grower
Pritchardia pacifica seedling showing first spike, seeds were gathered from trees lining the roads that the government had planted.
Adonidia merrillii variegated variety purchased from a local garden center.
Adonidia merrillii variegated variety, leaves
Pinanga insignis acquired in Palau. The mother plant had a deep purple crownshaft and lots of fruit on it. I was only able to find one that had already sprouted with a small spike showing, which was on September 1st, 2013. The rest of the seeds (I got six) were still in husks but dried out. It's October 22nd and this one has finally gone from little spike to its first set of leaves, which are about half an inch long. The remaining seeds were processed, and all have germinated, one which appears to have two seedlings springing forth. The color of these leaves is pretty interesting, not a plain green like the betelnut palms when they are seedlings, but has a reddish color along the margins, and pleats of the leaves.
Areca catechu seedling, Guam local red variety. The kernel or nut as it's called on Guam is a bright red color when immature and is generally chewed when it is fully mature. The nut has a fine granular texture and is preferred over the local white variety which doesn't have a fine texture and is less "potent".
Areca catechu, Guam local red variety, leaf up-close
Photograph of the local red variety's immature nut, showing the deep red color and small kernel size.
Areca catechu, Palau white variety. The kernel of the Palauan betelnut palm is larger, meatier, white colored, and gelatinous when young. It is preferred by islanders from the other Micronesian islands for chewing. These were obtained in Palau earlier this year.
Photograph of the Palauan white variety's immature nut, showing the white color and larger kernel size.
I hope you enjoyed the photographs! I enjoy seeing the pics you all post.
-James