The Paradise Palm - Licuala mattanensis cv. ‘Mapu’

Licuala are palm trees (family Arecaceae) that are more commonly known as fan palms that have leaves which are mostly circular in outline, with sometimes undivided but more commonly divided wedge-shaped frond segments. Locally known as palas, the fronds are used for thatching and also as a food wrapper/container (think of ketupat daun palas). Examples of commonly planted Licuala include Licuala grandis - the Ruffled Fan Palm/Vanuatu Fan Palm and Licuala orbicularis – the Sarawak Palas Palm.

The genus name Licuala is the Latinised derivative of the local name for the palm in Celebes (Sulawesi), i.e. leko wala. There are about 145 species of Licuala, ranging from Bhutan and right down to Australia. The stems can be solitary or clustered, and in some species, subterranean.

Licuala mattanensis cv. ‘Mapu’

One of the lesser known members of this genus is Licuala mattanensis. Licuala mattanensis is an understory forest palm found in Borneo rainforest (Sarawak and Kalimantan). The strikingly tessellated foliage cultivar/variety called Mapu is sought after in cultivation. This palm is sometimes referred to as the Mapu palm or the Paradise Palm Mapu. The Mapu palm is slow growing and likes dappled light especially when they are still young. This palm is a dwarf when compared to the other Malaysian Licuala palms, and will only reach a height of 3 meters after decades of growth.

The Paradise palm 'Mapu' after many years of growth.

I got this Licuala mattanensis cv. ‘Mapu’ from Fauzi (4zeplant – http://www.dapat.net/4zeplant) years ago. I then passed it to J & A who stays at the penthouse on the other block and it has been there since. After 5 years or so, the plant is still less than 15cm in height! The leaves have sort of a mottled appearance when young but now look more like tessellations. Though slow growing, the foliage is striking and the light requirements make it more suitable as an indoor plant.

A handful from the balcony garden

A little clearing up of plants and replanting on the balcony, which was way past due, was done in the past week. I have since decided to change from using polybags to small plastic pots for the herbs that I grow on the balcony in order to free up some space. Plus it is easier on the eyes, so to speak. The Thai basil was harvested and made into Thai basil infused vinegar, plus some Bishop’s Crown chillies. The fruits can be two to four-lobed and one plant can produce any of the types, probably influenced by environment factors.

A bunch of Thai basil and some Bishop's Crown chillies. The basil went into a jar of vinegar whilst the chilli was used in a salad.

Cuttings of herbs - sage, spearmint, oregano, tarragon and sweet basil.

The Capsicum baccatum plant is not doing too well in the heat and having to fend off mealybugs and thrips infestation. Touch wood, I have not seen any spider-mites yet, which is good since they can be very hard to eradicate. Now I am waiting for another batch of Bishop’s Crown seedlings to come up and replace the current plants. The peppermint got evicted from their big polybags and also any other bags that they have managed to crawl to and establish themselves on. They have been reduced to just a few cuttings in two plastics pots.

Some of the ripened Bishop's Crown chillies. They can be a 2, 3 or 4-lobed fruit. The lobes are sweet with a mild citrusy taste (I think they taste better than bell peppers) whilst the core is hot. And with enough heat to leave your hands with a burning sensation if you deseed them with your bare hands.

One of the Bishop's Crown Chilli plant on the balcony - I have not harvested this batch of fruits yet. The leaves are not so pretty to look at due to the heat and insect attacks. The Ascocenda Vernon Kebodeaux beneath the chilli blooms like clockwork.

Another plant with 7 chillies on a branch that is now almost leafless. They look like mini UFOs hanging from the balcony.

I have also sown some of the seeds that Diana gave the last time i.e. the chervil and chives. I have only sown a small number of chervil seeds and will probably continue to sown another batch as I am afraid the conditions here might trigger them to bolt. The seedlings seemed to grow at a fast rate, and are all coming up nicely. Took them just 3-4 days to germinate and put out roots before lifting the cotyledon leaves up. If you want some chervil or herb seeds to grow, do check out her blog where those seeds are available (Kebun Bahagia Bersama).

Chervil seedlings popping out of the soil. These were from the seeds that Diana sent me last Christmas.

A few days later, the chervil had begun to put forth their first real leaf.

Whilst clearing up, I also found out that three of the remaining Dahlia pots had produced pot tubers. I saved two of the three (the third one was a single-petaled type) and repotted the tuber in a small pot. The buds at the neck of the tuber sprouted as well as the lateral buds further up. I did not cure the pot tubers but opted to replant them after soaking the tubers with Carbendazim (Methyl 1H-benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate) and Zineb (Zinc ethane-1,2-diylbis(dithiocarbamate)). This is to prevent rotting of the cut surfaces on the uncured tubers. I have tried curing Mignon Dahlia pot tubers before and they all shrivelled up as I had allowed it to dry out too much. Pot tubers are much smaller than standard tubers and tend to dry out rapidly once removed from the earth.

One of the Dahlia pot tubers - the black arrows point to intact buds at the neck of the tuber whilst the blue arrow is pointing at one that was accidentally damaged by me when emptying the pot.

The same tuber after a few days, with the buds sprouting. Since this pot tuber was not cured, the buds on the stem above also sprang forth with life. I will slowly raise the soil level to cover the growing buds from the neck of the tuber. And yes, the stake is actually a chopstick.

So now I have to be diligent and watch for pest and wait for them to grow back.

In Memoriam - the RMS Titanic (1912-2012)

April 15 1912, the unsinkable... sank. Today marks the 100th anniversary of the tragedy that occurred 640km off the coast of Newfoundland. Out of the 2227 or so passengers on board (no definitive list of passengers), about 710 survived the tragedy. Due to outdated maritime laws, she only had enough lifeboats to carry 1,178 people, which is about 53% of her total passengers on board.

The RMS Titanic leaving Southampton on April 10, 1912 - image from Wikipedia.

Most of the survivors come from those traveling in 1st class. About 62% of the 1st class passengers made it, whilst approximately 43% of the 2nd class passengers survived. Only 26% of the 3rd class passengers were saved from the incident! None of the ship musicians made it. Lessons learnt from this tragedy:

1. Nothing is unsinkable, even space shuttles explode.
2. Travel first class...better chance of survival.
3. Never be a ship musician...You go down like Nero. They were the unsung heroes on board the ship.

An important outcome from this tragedy was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which governs maritime safety up till today.

May they all rest in peace. Requiem aeternam, dona eis requiem aeternam.