Growth of ornamental palms, Phoenix and Washingtonia, as epiphytes on suburban street trees in Albury, NSW, Australia

  • Palms are ubiquitous as landscaping plants in many urban areas. Dispersed by frugivorous birds and often tolerated as self-seeded plants by the property owners, Phoenix canariensis (Canary Islands date palms) and two species of fan palms (Washingtonia robusta and Washingtonia filifera) in particular, have become established in many urban spaces. This paper examines the establishment of such self-seeded palms as epiphytic growth in crooks and branch scars of suburban street trees. Given the limited nutrient availability and the restricted space for rootmass development, these palms undergo a natural bonsai process. Some palms have persisted for over a decade without reaching sexual maturity. While the epiphytic growth demonstrates the palms' further dispersal capability, it does not appear to increase their potential invasiveness into new areas of land.

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Metadaten
Author:Dirk H. R. Spennemann
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-583356
DOI:https://doi.org/10.7751/cunninghamia. 2019.19.010
ISSN:0727- 9620
ISSN:2200 - 405X
Parent Title (English):Cunninghamia : a journal of plant ecology for eastern Australia
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2019
Year of first Publication:2019
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2021/02/10
Tag:Phoenix canariensis; Washingtonia robusta; dispersal; frugivory; marginal environments
Volume:19
Page Number:7
First Page:113
Last Page:119
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 58 Pflanzen (Botanik) / 580 Pflanzen (Botanik)
Sammlungen:Sammlung Biologie / Sondersammelgebiets-Volltexte
Zeitschriften / Jahresberichte:Cunninghamia : A Journal of Plant Ecology for Eastern Australia / Cunninghamia : A Journal of Plant Ecology for Eastern Australia, Volume 19 (2019)
:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-514446
Licence (German):License LogoDeutsches Urheberrecht