Injuries caused by PALMS

[DoomsDave]

Howdyall:

Yatchingone (Randy) 's post on the fighter with the CIDP thorn in hand inspired this.

Yeah, YEAH, there's an older post about the same thing and maybe I started it, and if you don't like it . . .

Anyway, our burgeoning board has new members, with injuries, and I'll bet many of our old hands have new injuries, too.

So, I took a poke in the eye with a Rhopie Cheesemanii spear, and that [expletive EXPLETIVE] hurt, gave me a red eye like a thousand addicts, dang, that was nasty.

Got better. (Started to wonder, after a while!)

So, how about you? Oh, and far as I'm concerned, reprise your old stories. One of us took a Phoenix spine in the elbow . . . .

Cringe!

EWWWW!

Etc.

[Kailua_Krish]

No long term injury but I got a jab from a P. canariensis in my forehead, it hit some sort of blood vessel and there was blood all over

-Krishna

[Tyrone]

Those Phoenix are bad. I've been bagging up nothing but Phoenix lately at the nursery. So far P reclinata is the most vicious. Spines right down the length of the petiole, and multi-trunked. P dactylifera spares the spines the entire length, and P canariensis are just huge knitting needles. I had a half and inch CIDP spine stuck in my thumb for 6 weeks. Raised a hell of a lump, and throbbed for ages. One day it popped out. What a relief. Give me Calamus any day.

Best regards

Tyrone

[ariscott]

You need welding gloves for those, Tyrone...

Regards, Ari

[Wai`anae Steve]

Those Phoenix are bad. I've been bagging up nothing but Phoenix lately at the nursery. So far P reclinata is the most vicious. Spines right down the length of the petiole, and multi-trunked. P dactylifera spares the spines the entire length, and P canariensis are just huge knitting needles. I had a half and inch CIDP spine stuck in my thumb for 6 weeks. Raised a hell of a lump, and throbbed for ages. One day it popped out. What a relief. Give me Calamus any day.

Best regards

Tyrone

At then there was the time a coconut I was knocking down from a tree w/a shovel rolled down the handle and hit me on the head. Cut the tree down after that

One more "Lucky Live Hawai`i". Don't need to grow Phonex w/their nasty spines to get the tropical look.

[Walt]

I've never, so far, had a serious injury from a palm. I once got stuck badly in my nail cutical by my clumping Paurotis palm.

I've also been stuck by my Phoenix sylvestris and Phoenix reclinata.

Dave, I recall many, many years ago you made the statement at the old forum that a large clump of P. reclinata could stop a charging rino! I don't think there's a greater truth!

And speaking of Phoenix reclinata, I recently gave one of mine (I think it has something mixed with it and it's not pure reclinata -- but just a vicious with it's spines) a hair cut. I wore eye protection, leather gloves, and was extra careful when trimming it.

My Phoenix reclinata just before its hair cut:

My Phoenix reclinata after its hair cut:

[Mark_NoVA]

I haven't learned to avoid palm frond pokes in the eye when I lean over to weed or water palms.

[Miccles]

Anyone in the tropical climes been boinked on the head by a falling coconut ??

Seriously though, that's meant to be responsible for quite a few deaths a year isn't it ??

Regards

Michael.

[ariscott]

Someone from the tropics knows better than to hang out under coconut trees, Michael... It is just not a good idea in general.

Anyway, mulching my 'shady corner' today... and Roscheria melanochaetes spiked me really good. The spines are so fine that I didn't think much of them... until I got some stuck on my finger. 'Doh!!

Regards, Ari

[Kris]

Its sad to see that phoenix palms are very popular in this thread for the injuries they have caused.. And i know the feeling !

[amazondk]

Palm spines while walking in the forest here are more of a pain than most anything execpt ants. Michael, much more dangerous than coconuts are falling Brazil Nut gourds. They are as heavy as coconut in many cases and fall from a height of up to 60 meters. They are like canon balls raining down on the Earth.

dk

[garrin]

Yesterday afternoon I got hit on the hand by the base of a falling coconut frond while I was working below. It was enough of a blow to break skin, but I'm still glad it was not a coconut! My trees with lots of mature coconuts I avoid whenever possible and even wear a hardhat at times when working under them. The same during durian season -- a hardhat is very advisable under them, especially as the fruits are not only heavy but are covered with very sharp spikes and fall from considerable heights!

[Tyrone]

You need welding gloves for those, Tyrone...

Regards, Ari

But then you can't feel the weeds.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Phoenix. I have some roebellini's, and I do have some true wild form from Vietnam which will multi trunk one day I guess. P rupicola is a very nice one too, but I can leave the others. If I lived in the dry outback with lots of space, I'd probably have a grove of dactylifera, as they're tough, produce shade (which you're very grateful of out there) and give fruit even if the irrigation is salty.

Give me a Dypsis any day.

Best regards

Tyrone

[ariscott]

Yes, Scott wants one.. but I vetoed him. The african oil is spiky enough...

Regards, Ari

[Moose]

I think I need to give my Zombia antilarium a great big hug!

I have had two incidents with CIDPs. Big ouchy!

Ron.

[The Germinator]

Hey Dave, here is a nice ouchy from a plam on You-Tube.

Click Here

[amazondk]

I have a lot of Astrocaryum aculeatum, tucumã on my place in the country. These palms have fruits that enjoyed a lot around here. And, I am glad to have so many of the plams.. But, you need to be careful handling the fronds and the fallen needles can go right through a foot.

[Lowey]

I have a Salacca Magnifica that I managed to fall against, one of the spikes went clean through my finger and broke off, my hand swelled up like a football for three days sharp is an understatement when it comes to this palm, Nephrosperma Vanhoutteanum is another to avoid, beautiful palm but the spikes are long and fine, pulled a few of these out in the past and the area around the tips of the spikes get infected unless you get them all out.

[DoomsDave]

Livistona decora and australis and drudei all have little needles that break off in your skin, and raise lumps as your body tries to absorb them, which takes forever . . . .

[paulgila]

the main palm-related injuries("PRIs") for me have been to the "wallet/billfold" area.

it was not a total "cashectomy,"but close once or twice.

[realarch]

Been stabbed by the Verschaffeltia a few times, like needles. Also had the coconut paranoia, but I guess for a palm nut it's a fast and fitting way to buy the farm.

Had a guy from Tonga knock on the door and offered to cut down this monster, covered with vines, and leaning Cococs for practically nothing. The tree was down in 15 minutes and the stump is now a nice bromeliad feature. Gardening in the backyard is now paranoia free.

Tim

[paulgila]

it must be cold there.good thing he's wearing a sweatshirt.

[Moose]

I wouldn't mind a Lodoicea maldivica fruit falling and hitting me on my mellon in my garden.

[SunnyFl]

Howdyall:

Yatchingone (Randy) 's post on the fighter with the CIDP thorn in hand inspired this.

Yeah, YEAH, there's an older post about the same thing and maybe I started it, and if you don't like it . . .

Anyway, our burgeoning board has new members, with injuries, and I'll bet many of our old hands have new injuries, too.

So, I took a poke in the eye with a Rhopie Cheesemanii spear, and that [expletive EXPLETIVE] hurt, gave me a red eye like a thousand addicts, dang, that was nasty.

Got better. (Started to wonder, after a while!)

So, how about you? Oh, and far as I'm concerned, reprise your old stories. One of us took a Phoenix spine in the elbow . . . .

Cringe!

EWWWW!

Etc.

AHHHH God! Dave-Man! Those corneal stabs are nasty. I hope you saw a doc about that Just In Case.......

A few of you all might remember my tireless quest for the mighty hard to find Used-to-Be-a-Thrinax Morrisii. Well several years ago, Al Livingston kindly put one in my hand for a reasonable sum and I drove back up here THRILLED. (It's doing very well, btw)......

And as I was cooing to my new treasure as I placed it, adoringly, in its new home........

The damn thing stuck my eyeball! In spite of my passionate love for that palm - and look what it does! NOT fair.....

To Mark in No Va - try wraparound sunglasses. The big ones. I try to wear mine around the prickly palms now.

Reclinata is one of the worst, if not THE worst. I've heard of instances of rec attacks ending up in the ER. A neighbor with little kiddies keeps wanting to get one - yikes.

Michael (Miccles) wrote:

Anyone in the tropical climes been boinked on the head by a falling coconut ??

Nah, but my car nearly got nailed by a falling frond.... and off the road I went

Ya know what's about as bad as some of these (non-reclinata) palms? Pandanus. Utilis is wicked. VOE.

[Patrick]

I once had a Chamaerops humilis thorn break off in my scalp. I was grabbing some seeds off a single trunk specimen when I was just getting the palm bug. That was a sight watching me try to pull it out with a pair of needle nose pliers! That's the one time that I wish I had eyes in the back of my head!

I also got an Agave parryi spike right in my kneecap once. That felt good. Sorry it's not palm related, though!

Of course slices and stabs by my Livistona decoira happen at least once a year.......

[_Keith]

Thanks for posting this. I have to prune my CIDP, P. reclinata, and 5 P. sylvestris this coming weekend. I have been putting it off for the last 3 weeks. This will remind me to be safe. Of course, it might also be responsible for putting it off 2 or 3 more weeks, too.

[Davidl]

Pulling weeds around Copernicia's can be quit dangerous as well and if your not careful a phoenix palm can go through your hand or foot if stepped on.

[Eric in Orlando]

I've posted this before but about 15 years ago I got stabbed by a Phoenix canariensis real bad. It left a nasty wound which healed but with a "knot" that was supposedly scar tissue. About a year after the incident, the "knot" started getting infected and I went to a surgeon who cut it open and found a half inch tip of the spine imbedded in the finger bone. The first idiot doctor mis diagnosed me, he couldn't have diagnosed a cold on an ice cube. I have the spine in a specimen jar as a souveneir.

[John in Andalucia]

I have a reoccurring 'nightmare' whereby I'm standing on a small stepladder with my head inside the fronds of a Washingtonia, when suddenly the stepladder gives way and my neck is trapped in the scissor-like grasp of its armed petioles! This thought keeps me alert to the dangers of armed plants.

[DoomsDave]

Calamus are downright cuddly compared to Phoenix!

[mnorell]

My Phoenix theophrastii and sylvestris are all at that particularly dangerous pre-trunking height where they are a large mass of leaves bearing not only the horrific long needles on the petioles but also the more insidiously dangerous leaflet-tips. I have been known to go out with a pair of scissors, trimming those leaflets where they might come into contact with someone's face. I of course have to cut fronds beyond pathways for the same reason. My reclinata is on the corner of my property and I won't have to worry about that one for a little while now, I hope! I have two supposed P. acaulis that are very luxurious-looking and may be some sort of hybrid, as they are perhaps a little larger than what this species is supposed to be. But the spines are sparse and a little lax, so my vote goes to this creature, whatever it is, as a relatively carefree Phoenix.

My worst experience has been with a Livistona saribus. I was digging around the base and forgot that under the mulch was an old, juvenile frond. One of those shark's-tooth prickles broke off in my finger and I could never extract all of it. It hurt for about a year, was encapsulated into a hard bump below the surface, and then finally faded away, I guess absorbed???

A woman at a previous job of mine once went to Death Valley and returned with a very painful leg. She was certain she had been stung by a bee while strolling through a palm-grove. On her return she was told by the doctor to let it heal and not worry, but it kept getting worse. She would limp painfully around the building and finally went in again and was x-rayed. They found a 5-inch (!) Phoenix dacty needle embedded in her calf! She kept it in a jar by her desk...and never really knew how she could have been stabbed to such an extent that day in Death Valley without her knowledge.

Our spiny friends deserve their respect. And many of us in marginal climes have to learn to love these spiny critters since our choices are limited. Indeed there is much to love about Phoenix, Acrocomia and Livistona saribus!

Edited October 20, 2009 by mnorell

[Peter Pacific]

God Bless the spiny palms! I really love my CIDP, zombia, bactris major, acrocomia aculeata, gastrococcos crispa even the paurotis, L. chinensis and the phoenix roebelinis...and if a guest accidently bumps into one...hehehe...I can...apologize profusely....hehehehehe!!

[peachy]

Myself being a battle scarred veteran of many bouts with P. reclinata, I now discovered a foolproof way to prune it back when it needs doing. I PAY someone else to come and do it for me. Years ago at my old place I was dangling out the window cleaning the outside of it, fell and landed in the middle of my big old chaemerops., providing much amusement to my husband (former) at the time. Pulling out the bromeliads is another sure way to get a scar or 10 around here also.

Peachy

[Eric in Orlando]

The sharpest palm we are growing would have to be Phoenix pusilla (P. zeylanica). The leaflets are very stiff and very sharply pointed, almost like a spine. It forms a thick mass so 1-2x a year it gets thinned out, not a fun job. The fronds are one big spine daring you to come close. A solid hedge of these would keep anything or anyone out.

I like spiny palms and have been hooked, poked, stabbed and grabbed many times. Some of the rattans are the worst with the cirri or flagella hooking easily into skin or clothing or both.

[PalmGuyWC]

I've kept my Phoenix population down to four because of the spines. I once had a P. dactilifera growing near a path and I was afraid someone would put an eye out, so I had to remove it.

By far the most dangerous palm growing in my garden is Trithrinax campestris. The tips of the fronds are sharp needles and the fronds are very stiff and don't bend. When stuck by one it feels like an insect bite and the hurt lasts for a long time. I once jammed one into my elbo, and my arm immediately went limp. It hurt for months and I could hardly lift a cup of coffee for weeks afterwards.

I've learned to use heavy leather gloves when picking up fallen fronds from Washingtonias, and Livistonias. Also, gloves required when I trim my Chamaerops about every 3 years. I usually get at least one Chamaerops spine stuck in my scalp and only discover it weeks later. Apparently there are very few nerve endings in the scalp.

The edge of some palm petioles, while missing spines, can be razor sharp and can eaisly slice a hand or finger open. My most recent accident was when I lost my balance and fell backwards into a large rose bush. It took me several minutes to extract myself, but amazingly not much damage to me.

Dick

[Eric in Orlando]

Borassodendron machodonis has a spineless petiole but the edges of the petiole are razor sharp.

[Eric in Orlando]

Livistona saribus (maroon form)

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

Trithrinax brasiliensis

[Eric in Orlando]

Acanthophoenix rubra

Acrocomia aculeata

Aiphanes lindeniana

Astrocaryum mexicanum

[Eric in Orlando]

Calamus erectus

Calamus usitatus flagella

Daemonorops jenkinsiana

Desmoncus orthacanthos

[Eric in Orlando]

Phoenix pusilla

Plectocomia himalayana cirri

Plectocomiopsis sp.

Salacca wallichiana