Ugliest Palm?

[tjwalters]

The Halloween Palm thread got me to thinking... A queen can be scary when neglected, but has the potential to be a beautiful palm. Surely, though, there must be some palms that, even when grown well, are less than attractive (albeit beauty is subjective). Any thoughts on what is the ugliest palm even when well-grown?

[Moose]

Washingtonia robusta

[JD in the OC]

Green Form or "Stiffy" Jubaea tops my list:

[boko]

Phoenix roebelini

[John in Andalucia]

Washies? Pygmies? These are just the most prolific, least desirable palms. Isn't there a "must-have" ugly palm lurking in a rainforest somewhere?

[Phil]

I had a Syagrus vagans come trick or treating to the door last night and I turned it away.

Phil

[tikitiki]

For me the ugliest pretty palm is Pinanga speciosa. I have not seen one with more than a few leaves and mine always have only one or two.

[tjwalters]

JD: Do all the "stiffies" look like that? I agree, not very attractive, but the massive trunk is still pretty cool.

tikitiki: Most of the online pictures of P. speciosa were pretty bad, showing palms with sparse crowns. However, the one on the Rare Palm Seeds web site looked pretty good. Maybe they're more difficult than ugly?

Phil: S. vagans is closer to what I am imagining an "ugly" palm to be. It might as well be a grass - only aspiring to be a palm.

John: I agree. Washies and pygmies can look great when grown well, even though they are a bit overused.

[Kris]

All palms are beautiful,but to me verigated effect on bismarkia,b.armeda,C.Ekamani,Cidp etc is not welcome.And by the way all weak looking palms,that are lean & hungry looking are not to my taste.May be iam concerned about them since i live in a cyclone prone zone.

love,

kris

[fastfeat]

For me, got to be this gem of a Washingtonia in Dunedin, FL. Total width of the head was only about 4'/1.3m across!

[Caryota_gigas]

Acoelorrhaphe wrightii

[Caryota_gigas]

I always wanted to start a thread like this but thought everyone would be offended, as no matter how crappy, ugly, small, etc, a palm seems to be when posted on here, everyone seems to go on like it is the most marvellous thing they have seen.

[Kris]

I always wanted to start a thread like this but thought everyone would be offended, as no matter how crappy, ugly, small, etc, a palm seems to be when posted on here, everyone seems to go on like it is the most marvellous thing they have seen.

[Lowey]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess, some palms that I think are ugly, others love but I am with Kris, some verigated palms just dont look right, others just look like their dying

[Kostas]

Personally i think that every palm species is beautyfull under the right conditions and for someone's eyes.I dont have a palm i would not like to see(except maybe hybrids but this is not due to aesthetics) but i always plant only what i like a lot and i am picky on that due to lack of space...

What i really dont like is palms with above ground branching that is unnatural for their species and also above ground branched P. dactylifera,although it may be natural on this species in ceratin populations maybe? Dont know but dont like it. Unbranched P. dactylifera is still a beauty though

[Lowey]

Well said Kostas

[Al in Kona]

Tom said it well, "beauty is subjective", and perhaps that is a good thing. I think most would agree that just because a palm is commonly grown or over used doesn't make it ugly, just less desirable. Most of us like variety. I've seen some truly beautiful Washintonias and Syagrus romanzoffianas out there but I've also seen some poorly grown ones that would have to take on the "ugly" title. So everything is relative.

For me it's hard to call any well grown palm as ugly. However, like everybody else I have a few palms that I just don't find very attractive and therefore would not plant one in my garden. One that comes to mind is Phoenix theophrasti. Another would be some of the Gaussia species.

[rozpalm]

The only ugly palms IMO are those usually made so by the neglect of their owners. The palms that are less attractive due their lack of trunk symmetry or sparse crowns or bizarre growing habits are often the attention grabbers when people tour the garden.

[PalmatierMeg]

Ugly palm = Dead palm

[John in Andalucia]

Ugly palm = Dead palm

Wow, Meg! I bet all your palms are well-behaved!

[M@ximus]

The one I don't have yet!!!

:D

Best M@x

[freakypalmguy]

I always wanted to start a thread like this but thought everyone would be offended, as no matter how crappy, ugly, small, etc, a palm seems to be when posted on here, everyone seems to go on like it is the most marvellous thing they have seen.

The problem with a thread like this, is you are bound to hurt feelings when you insult a palm that they have nurtured from a seedling into a mature palm that they enjoy and love. You wouldn't tell someone there kids are ugly, would you? What's the point?

[tjwalters]

I always wanted to start a thread like this but thought everyone would be offended, as no matter how crappy, ugly, small, etc, a palm seems to be when posted on here, everyone seems to go on like it is the most marvellous thing they have seen.

The problem with a thread like this, is you are bound to hurt feelings when you insult a palm that they have nurtured from a seedling into a mature palm that they enjoy and love. You wouldn't tell someone there kids are ugly, would you? What's the point?

Hence the question mark in the thread title.

[Ken Johnson]

This is the kind of thing Kris is talking about? Ugly!

[John in Andalucia]

Some of you should also check out last year's topic, "Ugliest Palm Contest": http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=10746

[tjwalters]

Some of you should also check out last year's topic, "Ugliest Palm Contest": http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=10746

I wasn't so much wondering about ugliest specimen as I was "ugliest" overall species ("Any thoughts on what is the ugliest palm even when well-grown?"). I guess, to be less offensive and more PC, we could say "least attractive" palm species. Certainly any individual palm, regardless of species, could be hideous, especially if neglected.

[palman]

I have a Gaussia maya near my front door that I have thought about giving it the old 86 since it is so thin & grows slowly......I is 2-3 meters away from a beautiful bottle palm. Both are under a large oak about 11 meters tall.

[DoomsDave]

Hmm.

I'm mostly with Kostas and Kris . . .

BUT!

There are some palms that are Pretty Close to Ugly . . . .

(Sounds like a Clint Eastwood movie, with Shirley McLaine . . . . )

That stifffy Jube

Syagrus vagrans

Prtchardtia affinis, just so bedraggled looking

Syagrus oleracea (I think) just like a skinny stiffy jube.

[plamfrong]

Phoenix acaulis

Sabal etonia

For some reason I've always had trouble getting excited about Serenoa repens, though I'm sure there are nice well grown specimens out there.

[boko]

This is the kind of thing Kris is talking about? Ugly!

[/quote

I know its a matter of taste, but this is one ugly palm! Is it planted near Tjernobil??

[redant]

The ugly feet of what is frequently considered the ugliest palm

[redant]

and the crown shaft (best I could get)

[Kris]

This is the kind of thing Kris is talking about? Ugly!

Dear Ken

What can i say... you have struck the bulls eye ! And by the way nice visual.

love,

kris

[happ]

The ugliest palms are the neglected trees that people just ignore or take for granted. A nearby Coptic church has a nice row of CIPA [5-15'\ 250-450cm] that they massacre each Palm Sunday. By cutting the youngest 5-6 fronds, the trees appear linear & misshapen. Since the Canary palms line a street, I have emailed the priest to consider the ecstatic obligation to the community [no response].

Also, there are a row of 8 king palms along a sidewalk in Glendale. The business closed but nobody\ city has bothered to water the once-attractive trees\ grass that are dying. Pasadena allows watering only once a week [if caught you face a $1000 fine].

[Rafael]

I think that all kind of palms have its beauty, no doubt about it! Each palm causes a special visual effect, i think and i feel!

However, we can graduate that effect.

To me the palm wich i like less is cyca revoluta, but i recognise its specific beauty.

By the way i cant understand who says taller w robusta is an ugly palm. I think those are amazing, touching the sky, they are like bridges to the sky!!!

[Eric in Orlando]

This poor Syagrus romanzoffiana specimen is growing at a local gas station. It is planted in a narrow strip between the parking lot and the sidewalk and no irrigation. The pH must be incredibly high. There are about a dozen planted in a row. The others are just yellow and need to be acidified and fertilized but this one and the one behind it are pretty pathetic

[Mark@PalmBeach]

A poorly grown Brahea edulis to me are not very nice looking. I really don't like the look of a huge trunk and a few sparse fronds.

[tjwalters]

I had intended this thread to be a "least attractive species" thread, but it seems to have turned into an "ugly specimen" thread. Any thoughts on what is the least attractive/desirable palm species ("even when grown well")? So far I think Syagrus vagans has the lead.

[peachy]

I think that all kind of palms have its beauty, no doubt about it! Each palm causes a special visual effect, i think and i feel!

However, we can graduate that effect.

To me the palm wich i like less is cyca revoluta, but i recognise its specific beauty.

By the way i cant understand who says taller w robusta is an ugly palm. I think those are amazing, touching the sky, they are like bridges to the sky!!!

Sorry Rafael, Cycas revolata is not a palm. It's a cycad. Now if anyone has ever seen a Nannorhops ritchiana, who could honestly say that they are not incredibly ugly. Followed closely by Seranoa repens. Just a bunch of spikes and spines, nothing like an elegant palm should be to me at least.

Peachy

[Rafael]

I think that all kind of palms have its beauty, no doubt about it! Each palm causes a special visual effect, i think and i feel!

However, we can graduate that effect.

To me the palm wich i like less is cyca revoluta, but i recognise its specific beauty.

By the way i cant understand who says taller w robusta is an ugly palm. I think those are amazing, touching the sky, they are like bridges to the sky!!!

Sorry Rafael, Cycas revolata is not a palm. It's a cycad. Now if anyone has ever seen a Nannorhops ritchiana, who could honestly say that they are not incredibly ugly. Followed closely by Seranoa repens. Just a bunch of spikes and spines, nothing like an elegant palm should be to me at least.

Peachy

I know that, i was talking concerning to palms and cycads!

Ande anyway, both have similar nature, and diferent forms and sizes.

And, besides that, I still think the same!