Sunday, February 28, 2016

Tropical Times in the Conservatory - Plant of the day - Date Palm "Phoenix dactylifera"

A cold and blustery day in St. Paul!  As I stand in the North Garden, surrounded by tropical lushness, I’m surprised to see snow swirling in the gusty winds outside.  I'm surprised to see this because it wasn’t snowing when I came in this morning.  I guess I need to listen to the weather forecast more often.  Seeing the snow fly outside makes me feel grateful and happy to be inside the beautiful Como Conservatory.

Sunken Garden - overcast outside
I got to work with new volunteer today. She started in the North Garden.  We had a rich discussion about art, culture and the intersection of art and economics as perceived and cultivated in human society.  Very interesting to meet new people and find out about their backgrounds and interests.  This volunteer is new to the path of gardening and ethnobotany but is well on her way to becoming a knowledgeable MCC interpreter!

Lots of young kids here today.  I was able to point out some well-hidden bananas to a couple of very young kids.  Too bad they are hidden - visitors love to see fruiting plants that they can identify with! 

The flower show is as beautiful as ever.  There's always a gardener's talk about the flower show at 1pm, but that's when my shift ends and I always need to go home to tend to my kiddies.  One day, I'm going to attend this talk!

Common Fig - Pollard Trimming
Today, a visitor asked about the difference between a date and a fig.  From a distance, both can seem to be much alike.  We talked about the fact that the date comes from the date palm and the fig from the fig tree.  Dates grow in bunches while figs grow singularly.  The date has a pit.  The fig has seeds inside.  They both provide fiber, but the fig more so and can detrimentally affect your health if you eat too much at once. 
Date Palm

The Plant of the Day is the Date Palm – Phoenix dactylifera.  Dates from the date palm are eaten the world over.  They are economically important to many regions in multiple countries.  The Date Palm offers many other economically and environmentally important features.  The entire date palm tree is very popular for landscaping.  Date seeds can be roasted and used to make coffee.  The seeds can be gound and turned into animal feed.  The seed oils, rich in several fatty acids, have been used in soaps and cosmetics.  Although small in size, the seed can be burnt and used as an effective charcoal.

The date palm trunk can be used in small scale construction or to make small items like fence posts.  As it grows, leaves fall off leaving a scar mark around the trunk. The inside of the trunk is filled with pith – a soft fiber material. Because of this, palms do not add growth rings each year to show their age.

For an incredible amount of more information about date palms:


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