Identification - Coconut palm variety in Miami

[chicagoman58]

Can anyone identify the variety of these Coconut Palms on Virginia Key?   They are among the most majestic ones I have ever seen in South Florida.  Thank you.

 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

Based on the location I would venture they are Jamaican tall coconuts. A coconut expert may be more specific. Another possibility is they are Pacific talls. I say that because I have two of those that were gifted to me years ago by a PTer in Guatemala so to me Pacifics are not out of the question. Palm lovers share their bounty around the world.

It helps these palms are way down in the Keys and far from Arctic fronts that plague FL. When I was in Cuba in 2014 the coconut palms were pristine - temps almost never fell low enough to damage them. Here in Cape Coral my coconuts get tattered and spotted leaves even if the low never falls below 40F. And they can't photosynthesize at all below 50F. They are very unhappy about this current cold front.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

They look like Jamaican Talls to me.  That area is full of them, so much so, that I would honestly say that 80% of the Talls in the Miami area are Jamaican Talls.

John

[chicagoman58]

I thought that all of the Jamaican Talls were killed by LY decades ago.   Also, I recall that the Jamaicans all had very swollen bases, more so than these - but maybe I'm mistaken about that.

Edited December 25, 2022 by chicagoman58

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

10 hours ago, chicagoman58 said:

I thought that all of the Jamaican Talls were killed by LY decades ago.   Also, I recall that the Jamaicans all had very swollen bases, more so than these - but maybe I'm mistaken about that.

Actually, LY only wiped out about 75% to 80% of the Jamaican Talls in South Florida.  Some were treated with an antibiotic injector, and some were just naturally immune to it, as I used to see some when I lived down there, especially in inland parts of South Florida, and in Southwest coastal Florida that were perfectly healthy without any injectors in them.  Also, you are correct about the large boles, but about 20% of the time, I would say, they either have no noticeable bole, or very little bole, so there is some natural genetic variation in them, but the crowns often look alike, with very large, but fewer leaves overall than Malayan Dwarfs, and wider trunks than Malayan Dwarfs, and often have a leaning, or curved trunk, and grow to be about 20ft. to 40ft. taller than Malayan Dwarfs.

John