Palm Trees: More Than Just Luxurious Leaves

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The curator of plants for the Montgomery Botanical Center in Miami is Andrew Street.

For 15 years, Street has studied the plant, and is currently assisting the BNT in assessing the types of palms found on the grounds of the retreat.

For several years, I’ve personally visited the property on several occasions, but never once have I noticed the difference in the palm trees, until today.

From a large palm that sits in the poinciana lawn, to a tall palm that looks like it’s dressed in a skirt.

Street tells me that there’s more to the trees than their leaves and island aesthetic.

The plant has economic benefits like the Cocos Nucifera or the Coconut Palm Tree.

Andrew Street – Curator of Plants, Montgomery Botanical Center

“In the tropics it can not be under stated, so coconuts are in every single thing, a lot of the island people do. For instance when I was in Tahiti, everything had coconut in it. It was wonderful, despite the dangers coconuts pose of from falling on our heads, they are one of the most important cash crops and food crops in the world.”

Bahamas National Trust Retreat Curator, Janeczka Johnson, says the palm collection that can be found on the retreat grounds today began in 1925, and is a reflection of the love the former property owners, Arthur and Margret Langlois, had for the plant.

Janeczka Johnson – Retreat Curator, BNT

“They dedicated their entire lives to collected palms and filling up the garden, so the whole of the retreat is eleven acres, and it’s elven acres of not just corpse forest, but of palms.“