Los Angeles Goes Native – On Tree Planting
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.23.06
Like the actors smoking in a vintage Hollywood production, Los Angeles’ Canary Island Palm trees remain iconic while they fade from view, in part from age, and in part from man-induced vulnerability. Just as the once-iconic image of characters smoking put actor health at risk, a fungal disease is now felling many of Hollywood’s Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis) in an outbreak that is the typical result of monoculture. Plant large numbers of trees of a single variety, a plant disease inevitably adapts to the new niche: an ecological imperative perfectly illustrated by the American Elm. Because this disease is not treatable, the City of Los Angeles’ response , quite logically, is to replant “oaks, sycamores and other native species [from a list of nearly 60 varieties] that are more suited to the environment.” Just what you’d expect of Hollywood ‘tree huggers’. We’re wondering though, what happens to all the dead Palms? Palms are not really trees, but perhaps there’s enough cellulose in the stems that the debris could be put to use making electricity. Photo credit: Damian Dovarganes / AP via MSNBC.
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why is everyone hellbent on burning every bit of "biomass" to create electricity?? wouldn't it server an ecologically better purpose rotting/decomposing like it is suppose to? we all complain about the degrading quality of soils, but then we suggest burning the only things that could sustainably make it better.
wtf?
The photograph above may be somewhat misleading for those who aren't familiar with the various palm species. Nearly all the palms in that photograph are fan palms, either the California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera, which is California's only native palm) or its close relative, the Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta).
The palms which are being removed are Canary Island date palms. As far as I know, the more common fan palm is not being removed, nor are most of the other palm species.
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Thanks much for the correction. I had actually looked up the species and noticed that the Canary Island Date photos looked little like the ones pictured in this post, but was lulled into using the MSNBC photo because it was an appropriate looking LA streetscape and because, you know, it came from the Main Stream Media and all! Next time I go with my first instinct.
Whenever somebody out of this area thinks of L.A. they think the sun-washed beaches, the Hollywood sign, and the Palm tree lined that put them in complete envey of the people living the good life. Why would they take away L.A.'s culture?