Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Palm trees in Florida

3690 views
13 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    February 2006
  • From: Germany
  • 524 posts
Palm trees in Florida
Posted by faraway on Sunday, May 31, 2015 6:56 AM

The web is full of information about palm trees in Florida. There are also millions of photos but I can not find any palm trees via street view that look like natural grown. All the many palm tries I find are more or less carefull placed at restaurant, hotels, shopping center, privat properties etc. I did never find any in the wilderness. That is true for my visits in Florida as well as my intensive search via Google street view.

Can you direct me to natural grown palm trees at least 10' high in the wilderness visible via street view in Florida?

Reinhard

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: California - moved to North Carolina 2018
  • 4,422 posts
Posted by DSchmitt on Sunday, May 31, 2015 11:58 AM

Google search  "Palm forest Florida native"  lots of images.

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

I don't have a leg to stand on.

  • Member since
    December 2007
  • 993 posts
Posted by hobo9941 on Sunday, May 31, 2015 1:25 PM

Most of the palm trees in Florida are grown in nurserys and sold to homeowners and businesses. For some odd reason, there don't seem to be any wild growing palm trees in Florida. Most of the wild palm trees seem to be small scrub palms and palmettos.

  • Member since
    February 2006
  • From: Germany
  • 524 posts
Posted by faraway on Sunday, May 31, 2015 1:26 PM

Thanks for answering. Yes, there are tons of images availbele. But I want to know/see via Google street view where they grow in the Florida wilderness. 

Reinhard

  • Member since
    November 2013
  • From: Los Angeles
  • 283 posts
Posted by JOHN BRUCE III on Sunday, May 31, 2015 2:20 PM

There's a good description of native plants in Florida at this site. http://www.floridasnature.com/florida%20trees1.htm What a couple of earlier posts are trying to say is that palm trees are by and large an introduced species, and do not occur naturally in Florida "wilderness" (or native vegetation) areas -- except for Palmettos, which are short and stubby and don't seem to match what you're after. I'm also a little puzzled that you want to find photos of wilderness areas on Google street view!

 

Going several pages in on that site, the Sabal Palm http://www.floridasnature.com/images/Sabal%20Palm%202.jpg seems to be the only one matching your criteria.  However, having spent some time in natural areas of the state, I would say they're unusual

My blog: http://modelrrmisc.blogspot.com/
  • Member since
    February 2006
  • From: Germany
  • 524 posts
Posted by faraway on Sunday, May 31, 2015 2:55 PM

I see, they are to rare at best to be found like pine trees. etc. 

ps. I used this page https://www.seabreezenurseries.com/FloridaNativePalmTrees.html for information.

 

Reinhard

  • Member since
    May 2015
  • 1 posts
Posted by UP SD40-2 on Sunday, May 31, 2015 3:58 PM

Reinhard, I lived in florida(brevard county) for 18yrs, moved there right out of high school. The most common palms that grew wild were the Sable Palms, you could find them as tall as around 90' .

Dont know if this will help, but I never seen a "forest" of palms, usually there would be a bunch of other trees around, then there would be a patch of 8-15 palms, in a group. It was like that in most places I can remember there. Hope that helps.

-Deano

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: California - moved to North Carolina 2018
  • 4,422 posts
Posted by DSchmitt on Sunday, May 31, 2015 5:07 PM

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

I don't have a leg to stand on.

  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Potomac Yard
  • 2,767 posts
Posted by NittanyLion on Sunday, May 31, 2015 5:10 PM

When most people think of a palm tree, they're thinking of the coconut palm.  While they can grow in Florida, they're coastal plants that occur relatively close to the ocean and only really survive to large size in Miami and the Keys.  

Now, its also wrong (very wrong) to say pine trees are rare in Florida.  They're extremely common.  Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) is all over the state and there's even a subspecies unique to Florida.

My own memories of my brief childhood stay in Florida are mainly of palmettos and slash pine everywhere.  And a few orange trees.  And sawgrass.  And palmetto bugs large enough to be visible in HO scale.

  • Member since
    February 2006
  • From: Germany
  • 524 posts
Posted by faraway on Sunday, May 31, 2015 5:24 PM
The preference of the Florida Keys and the Miami area is a good explanation for my failure finding some palm trees. I was mainly search the area served by the Florida Central Railroad. I am sorry for my confusing sentence about pine trees. I tried to express that pine trees are all over Florida (and could be easy found via street view) while palm trees are hard to find.

Reinhard

  • Member since
    September 2015
  • 34 posts
Posted by Pukka on Friday, December 18, 2015 12:20 PM

Noticed some palm trees in Wisconsin on the corner of US 12 & State 33. I presumed these were plastic or some such material. Don't know if they are still there.

Moderator
  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: Northeast OH
  • 17,247 posts
Posted by tstage on Friday, December 18, 2015 7:00 PM

Reinhard,

I grew up in northern FL.  Palm trees tend to shed their dried fronds from time-to-time, which can be as long as 4-5' and are hard and spiky.  While it's fine if one drops in your yard, you really don't want one dropping on a car passing by.

My guess is that most native palm trees in FL have been moved from tree lawns that line busy streets because of the debris they leave (especially after a storm) and that's why you are having difficultly find one on Google street view.

Tom

https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling

Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

  • Member since
    October 2007
  • From: Fullerton, California
  • 1,364 posts
Posted by hornblower on Thursday, December 24, 2015 5:25 PM

This discussion would fit here in California, too.  There is only one species of palm tree native to California - the California Fan Palm or Washingtonian Palm.  It grows naturally only in high water table areas of the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area).  Being a desert, these palms are hard to find in the Coachella Valley which is good as they aren't very attractive.  Virtually every other species of palm tree has been imported to California.  Unless someone planted them there, you won't find palm trees in undeveloped areas of California.  The same goes for eucalyptus trees which were imported from Australia as a means of growing railroad ties in a hurry (didn't work out).  So what are the two most popular trees with landscapers in Southern California?  Palm trees and eucalyptus trees!  Go figure.

Hornblower

  • Member since
    May 2004
  • 7,500 posts
Posted by 7j43k on Thursday, December 24, 2015 6:02 PM

hornblower

So what are the two most popular trees with landscapers in Southern California?  Palm trees and eucalyptus trees!  Go figure.

 

Eucalyptus???  As a homeowner that lives downwind of the world's biggest eucalyptus (8' trunk), I've got to question, at the very least, the intelligence of anyone who would specify one.  Maybe there's some sort of dwarf eucy I've never heard of--sort of a chihuahua of eucy's.

Here in Oakland, eucalyptus is one of the two trees that can be taken out without a permit.  There's a reason.

They drop branches.  They drop leaves.  They drop bark.  And, when they are in the mood, they fall over.  Oh, yeah.  They burn REAL good.  Like back in 1991.

I dunno.  Maybe it's landscaper's revenge.

 

 

Ed

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!