Nenga banaensis

[sgvcns]

This is a palm I have been looking for on a few trips to Vietnam.

Unfortunately it was a wet morning and I had to climb a slippery slope of clay and loose gravel to get to the forest.

Once I was up in the forest on the slippery trail there it was.

[sgvcns]

Of course the only thing better than a flowering palm is a fruiting palm.

I can confirm red fruit when ripe

Some shots of the environment.

Quite a pretty place and Licuala dakrongensis quite abundant too.

 

 

[sgvcns]

So glad the rain stopped before I came down as I think it would have been on my arse(ass for Americans) if still wet.

The weather killed the camera unfortunately but it was playing up over the last few trips.

Got down and lots of interest from the locals now that they were out after the rain.

Chastised by the local police reps as this is apparently a restricted area for foreigners.

Just glad it was on the way out with a pocketful of seeds.

Now a weekend in Hanoi before flying to Singapore for 2 nights then home.

Got my fix of bun cha and 30c beers to get things rolling.

Weekends are the best in Hanoi with the road closures and street food.

Bring on Saturday

Cheers

Steve

[Pal Meir]

Nice habitat photos!

And here your first inflorescence photo a little bit less foggy:

[Palmarum]

Nice little Nenga there. Is it solitary or clustering? It looks like it would be easy to grow like most other Nengas and Pinangas.

Ryan

[PalmatierMeg]

Sweet little palm. Beautiful habitat shots. Is that area in danger from forest clearing? One of your photos showing a scalped hillside bothered me.

[mike in kurtistown]

I can almost feel the wetness everywhere. Thanks for these pictures of unfamiliar palms and locations.

[KrisKupsch]

This species appears to tolerate some cold, down to 5C each winter here 

[sgvcns]

All

The palm was solitary.

That scalped hillside was the track up (had to go on all fours in some bits it was that slippery).

If you look there are plantation timber lower down.

The bare earth was where the timber had been harvested ready to plant again.

Nearly all forest I have been in in Vietnam has evidence of illegal logging.

I'll say again that the palms from Vietnam show toughness for me. Hot/cold with dry/wet seasons means they can handle a range of climates( I believe ).

Great country to visit and easy to see a range of palms (this one took some effort though)

Cheers

Steve

[Tracy]

21 hours ago, sgvcns said:

Chastised by the local police reps as this is apparently a restricted area for foreigners.

Glad to hear that it was limited to being chastised!  Definitely looks like it was an adventure with the slippery trail conditions but that also makes the reward a little sweeter when you found the palm.  One can only hope that future logging doesn't result in the destruction of this palm's habitat.

[sgvcns]

Well they weren't that nasty at all. The army would have been more strict though a friend was turned away by the army and the boss treated him to lunch at his home.

Vietnamese are incredibly friendly people in my experience. Stopped by a locked gate and so had to walk up the hill to get to the forest area for Lanonia verrucosa and Licuala parvula. Took me 4 hours return to my car when would have been 1 hour otherwise. Luckily locals stopped and offered me a lift on the back of their scooters for part up and back when they saw me walking on the road.

No English just signed me to get on. Very grateful on a hot day.

At the Hanoi airport now  and off for 2 nights in Singapore before heading home to Brisbane.

Planning next years trip already.

Cheers

Steve

[tim_brissy_13]

On 9/21/2019 at 11:14 AM, sgvcns said:

All

The palm was solitary.

That scalped hillside was the track up (had to go on all fours in some bits it was that slippery).

If you look there are plantation timber lower down.

The bare earth was where the timber had been harvested ready to plant again.

Nearly all forest I have been in in Vietnam has evidence of illegal logging.

I'll say again that the palms from Vietnam show toughness for me. Hot/cold with dry/wet seasons means they can handle a range of climates( I believe ).

Great country to visit and easy to see a range of palms (this one took some effort though)

Cheers

Steve

Steve, just digging up this old post. Do you remember what elevation these Nenga were at? Palms from central or North Vietnam with some elevation seem to do ok down here in Melbourne like a few of the Lanonia sp. Wondering if N banaensis would be worth trying too (and the Lanonia and Licuala sp you mentioned). 

[realarch]

Hey Steve, thanks for the photos and info on one of your intrepid palm forays….glad to see you’re still at it. I totally missed this thread. 

Was recently in Hanoi and had no idea that city was so vast. 

I’ve had a N. pumila for years, nice palm, very Pinanga like and looks to be similar, but larger than N. banaensis. N. pumila is also a vigerous clumper.

Tim 

[sgvcns]

The palm was about 300m on the western border of Bach Ma near the Laos border. 

Lots of bombs dropped in the American war.

Actually went through a fenced minefield from those days. Rock hopped when off the trail...

I have found declinata melts at 40C here. I gave mine to a friend in Lismore.

Worth a try I think, as are all palms from the north and central.

Tim you should have hit Cuc Phuong. Some beauties there.

Off to Malaysian Borneo Midyear and back to Vietnam around September.

Fingers crossed