Female Daphniphyllum macropodum seeks handsome single male D. macropodum, object reproduction. Does not expect successful candidate to pull up roots, so donor pollen desirable. Serious inquiries only.
Daphniphyllum Are all cultivated Daphniphyllum macropodum in this area female? I have a 9 yr old 4m tall specimen in my garden in N. Vancouver. I obtained it as a 4" potted seedling (or could have been a cutting) from Hernoswood in Washington State. Are these known to spontanously change their gender? I have a Trachycarpus palm tree that was male, but this year bore fruit!?? Is the large Daphniphyllum in the Asian Garden also female?
UBC Botanical Garden has a number of male and female Daphniphyllum macropodum. Since the males began producing pollen, the females have started to produce drupes with viable seed. These are closer to the size of a small grape (the sterile fruits are pea-sized) and quite showy. The seeds themselves may be of hybrid origin, however, as we have other Daphniphyllum species in close proximity. To obtain pollen (or any other materials from the Botanical Garden), a "materials transfer form" must first be filled out and submitted for approval. These forms will soon be downloadable from the website, but until then, they can be requested by contacting the Botanical Garden office. I expect the characteristic of producing fruit (empty or not) makes the female the more visible of the two in the landscape. That, coupled with the ease of vegetative propagation has led to a preponderance of female plants locally.
Trachycarpus fortunei According to the text in Palms Throughout the World by David L. Jones (1995, Smithsonian), the Trachycarpus inflorescence "bears unisexual (rarely bisexual) flowers... The genus is currently under study." Trachycarpus at the Botanical Garden are now regularly producing significant fruit crops; so much so, that Friends of the Garden used clusters of Trachycarpus fruit in some of seasonal wreaths that were sold in the Shop in the Garden. Very exotic!
Trachycarpus fortunei and Daphniphyllum I wouldn’t be surprised if an apparently dioecious species can exhibit the attributes of a male in youth, but when large enough to spare the resources to produce seed, change to female. During the period of transition both attributes may be produced. It would be interesting to see if this is the case with Trachycarpus fortunei. Martin Gibbons and Tobias W. Spanner have done a great deal of fieldwork trying to define the genus, but there is still much to be done – enough to keep botanists busy for years. Most of the needed studies will have to be done in the controlled surroundings of a botanical garden, but therein lies the problem; In the cool to warm temperate regions of the world where these palms thrive, they are treated as little more than curiosities and relegated to display gardens or novelty plantings. These wonderful plants deserve better, and are worthy of detailed botanical study. As for the Daphniphyllum, I am interested in getting my hands on some pollen from a confirmed D. macropodum, to pollinate the female specimen at VanDusen with. It is sufficiently isolated to produce true seed. The volunteer seed collectors would like to be able to offer a limited number of the seeds for sale, and would gladly reserve some of the seed for whoever provided the pollen.
