Randy4ut

Just thought I would share a few pics taken Friday on our way to the Southeastern Palm Society meeting in Savannah. We left early to try and collect some needle palm seeds and simply let me see some needles and minors in their natural habitat. These shots were taken just south of Macon, GA. It rained most the day and we waded through swampy areas that were anywhere from 6-18" of COLD February water. The experience was well worth it for me as we collected several 1000 needle seeds and saw some of the largest trunking needles I have ever seen. The tallest trucked needles ranged between 3-5' and the fronds extended to an overall height of at least 9-10'!!! Here are a couple of pics and a link to the rest of the pics I took. Please forgive some of the lighting as I was more worried with dropping the camera, phone, etc. than actually taking a great pic. I think if you look at the pics, you will appreciate what I mean...







Here is a link if anyone wants to see the rest of the pics:
randy4ut/2008 Macon GA Needles and Minors - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

__________________

austinl01

Randy, those are some amazing pictures! Wow, those needle palms are so HUGE! I know the pictures just don't show the plants in their full splendor. The trunk on some of the needles is just so awesome. No one can say needle palms don't form a trunk because this isn't true. I bet those palms are really old, and you guys were very fortunate to have been able to locate them. It looks like I missed out big time. We'll have to meet up and head down on an expedition sometime. We won't forget our mud boots though! Very impressive plants. I'm glad you could collect seeds from those beauties, and I hope you have great luck germinating them.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

dablo93

great pics, I really love palms

__________________
-=