JANUARYJUNE 2016 NEWSLETTER

A Coconut Palm Ban in Miami, Florida? Story and photos by Elvis Cruz

Dear Friends and Fellow Palm Enthusiasts, I know this sounds strange, but I swear it’s true. The City of Miami, Florida has banned the planting of coconut palms on Miami’s streets! How do I know this?

Volume 4.6 ∙ June 2016 ∙ Newsletter of the International Palm Society

About a year and a half ago I planted the baby coconut palm you see in the picture (page 1), in a circular street median near my house, to replace one that a City of Miami truck had knocked over. (I planted that felled coconut back in 1991, as well as the tall one you see next to the baby.) Three months ago the City of Miami issued me a “Notice of Violation ­ Potential Property Lien”, with a possible $500 a day fine, for allegedly having planted that baby coconut palm without a permit. (It turned out I actually do have a permit, but the city doesn’t seem inclined to honor it. There are some strange plot twists to this story.) During my subsequent conversations with the city they told me that they banned the coconut palm from the City of Miami’s streets, and possibly its parks as well! You can read a newspaper story about this bizarre episode by clicking here. The whole scenario was so weird that I asked to appear before the Miami City Commission. You can watch my presentation to the Miami City Commission here. The video is about a half­hour long. (Once you get to that website, scroll about halfway down the list of agenda items and click on the second of two items labeled “PA.4 Personal Appearance ­ Elvis Cruz" or begin at 4:45:15 on the video progress bar. You can expand the screen by clicking on the arrows in the lower right­hand corner of the video, or you may keep the screen small and read along in the meeting minutes on the right of your screen.) Elvis Cruz at the Miami Commission Meeting; right, a vintage postcard from his presentation showing the iconic coconuts of Miami

The coconut palm has been planted on Miami’s streets for longer than the 120 years Miami has existed. It is an iconic part of Miami’s history, image and culture. And, oddly enough, at the same time the City of Miami is prosecuting me for having planted a coconut palm on a street, the City of Miami itself has been planting coconut palms on its streets!

Left: Trio of coconut palms very recently planted on 27th Avenue and Tigertail Right: City of Miami planting of mature coconut palms around its new dockmaster building, right next to Miami City Hall

Volume 4.6 ∙ June 2016 ∙ Newsletter of the International Palm Society

Has the city banned private citizens from getting permits to plant the coconut palm on neighborhood streets, while continuing to plant them itself? Or is it a case of one department of the city not knowing what another is doing? Or, as some have told me, is one particular outspoken citizen being selectively targeted?

A double standard? As Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell notedin this newspaper interview, one of the largest local purchasers of coconut palms is the City of Miami itself! The coconut ban was instituted by the city administration, with no public notice, public hearing or public input. As I was told by a city official, it is a policy, not a law. It has never been voted on by the Miami City Commission. It was done without our elected representative’s knowledge or consent. It is not written in the city code. Why did the city administration ban the coconut palm? Fear of possible liability from falling coconuts, they said. But that can be easily solved by not planting them next to parking spaces, and by letting freelance harvesters pick them. (There are coconut harvesters who will come and pick coconuts for free; they then sell them to restaurants or markets.) Understandably, the good citizens of Coconut Grove have been particularly displeased about the ban.They certainly don’t want the city to ban the coconut from Coconut Grove! A Coconut Grove homeowner’s association passed a resolution asking to end the ban.

And one Coconut Grove resident has started an online petition to end the ban. Could you please help?

Please click here to sign the petition to keep the coconut palm in Miami and in Coconut Grove. And feel free to add your comments. Signing the petition takes less than a minute, but it will help protect over 120 years of history and tradition. (If the petition website puts you on a mailing list you can easily unsubscribe.)

Please feel encouraged to forward this email to anyone you think might care about protecting palm trees and Miami’s cultural heritage! Thank you very much, Elvis Cruz

Volume 4.6 ∙ June 2016 ∙ Newsletter of the International Palm Society

Acanthophoenix rubra (left) and Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum (right)

Parc des Palmiers, Reunion Island Story and photos, Michael Merritt

Reunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues comprise the Mascarene Islands, formed as a volcanic hotspot track by eastward movement of the African tectonic plate over a vent in the earth’s crust. Reunion is the youngest island, and has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise (Peak of the Furnace). Like Mauna Loa and Kilauea on Hawaii Island, Piton de la Fournaise is a shield volcano, one that produces abundant lava flows rather than having violent eruptions. Joint agreements for scientific exchanges have been made between the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the volcano observatory at Piton de la Fournaise. Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park and La Reunion National Park have signed an agreement recognizing each other as “sister parks.” Returning from the Interim IPS board meeting in 2015, there was an opportunity to visit several remarkable palm gardens on La Reunion. Like Hawaii Island, Reunion Island is tropical, and tropical palms can be grown where rainfall is sufficient. The western and southwestern parts of the island, where much of the population and the palm gardens we visited on the first day are located, are somewhat dry, like the western side of Hawaii Island. IPS member Lazaro Priegues and I were fortunate to receive assistance from Jean­Francois Padre (“Hery” on the IPS Palm Talk forum) and Alain Hoarau (“Palmito”), Reunion palmophiles and members of the local IPS chapter. The biggest garden we visited, Parc des Palmiers, covers 20 hectares (50 acres) near southwestern town of Le Tampon and contains a worldwide selection of palms. This park is distinctive enough to be on the attraction lists of many professional tour groups. Reunion species in the park and pictured here include young specimens of Acanthophoenix rubra, Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum, and Acanthophoenix rousselii. My hosts described the conjugatum variety as smaller than D. album var. album, the variety familiar to landscapers in Hawaii and the rest of the tropical world, and as having thicker leaflets that are joined at their tips. Acanthophoenix rousselii is generally similar to A. rubra except that the undersides of A. rubra leaflets have a white indumentum, whereas the undersides of A. rousselii leaves are green. The fruits and seeds of A. rousselii are distinctly larger than those of A. rubra. A formal description of the recently discovered Acanthophoenix rousselii was provided by Ludwig in a 2006 issue of the Palms journal. Non­Reunion palms in the park pictured here include Cyphosperma balansae (from New Caledonia), Livistona boninensis (from Japan’s Bonin Islands), Dypsis ambositrae (from Madagascar).

Volume 4.6 ∙ June 2016 ∙ Newsletter of the International Palm Society

Clockwise from top left: Acanthophoenix rousselii, Cyphosperma balansae, Livistona boninensis, and Dypsis ambositre.

Volume 4.6 ∙ June 2016 ∙ Newsletter of the International Palm Society

New IPS Online Store

from Susan Hubbell Show both your support for the International Palm Society and your love of Palms! Our limited edition t-shirts commemorating the society's 60th anniversary will only be available this year. You will find a wide range of other items, all with the IPS logo, including tote bags, caps, mugs, mouse pads, thermoses, water bottles and more - all at very affordable prices. And with the 30-day money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose if an item does not meet your highest expectations. Click here to check out the product line, or go to the IPS website at www.palms.org and click on the Palms Store option from the menu bar. Proceeds from item sales support the IPS and its goals. Send your “selfie” in your new IPS finery to the editor for publication in the IPS Newsletter! Palm enthusiast Keith, of Winter Haven, Florida, kindly consented to model his new IPS golf shirt for us; Miss Hollie approves.

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Volume 4.6 ∙ June 2016 ∙ Newsletter of the International Palm Society