PalmScapes: The Gebang Palm

As I Wander...

Welcome!

Living in tropical Malaysia, we tend to take the hot humid weather, thundery rainstorms and the spectrum of wild evergreen plants as a given.

Recently, I noticed more exotic plants making its way into landscaped home gardens, recreational parks, frontages of shopping malls and

commercial buildings.

Along kerb sides of residential streets and busy motorways, palms, trees and flowering plants make pleasant and interesting fringes.

This is a record of the various species "as I see it" for I am in awe of palms. Hence, my premise for this blog is that the global garden,

i.e. every physical garden (tended or untended), becomes a part of my, simply said, cyber palm garden. ;-)

Please feel free to share your thoughts or comments.

Thank you for visiting!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Gebang Palm

Botanical Name : Corypha utan/Corypha elata
a.k.a. Gebang (Malay)/Buri

The "bronzy-leaved" palms are such a cheerful contrast to the park greens with steel masses in the background. Actually, there were two groups of the Gebang palms in the KLCC park. These being so eye-catching, one could not miss....

One batch were planted beside the C. umbraculifera and some larger, shadier trees. They seemed okay but less happy.

This batch on the undulating ground beside the man-made stream and an adjacent pedestrian bridge looks absolutely vibrant and "sun tanned" in the the open. Just stunning!

sunny & toasted

These palms are found in India, throughout South-east Asia and even at the tip of Northern Australia. Their habitat are mainly along river courses, flood plains and grassy land. These large and tall palms do grow to heights of about 20m. Like the C. umbraculifera, they also flower towards the end of their lifetime with a massive display of a long inflorescence with countless flowers.