**Umbrella
Palm, Umbrella Sedge, Galingale, Papyrus (the
most commonly used name in Montserrat) Cyperus
alternifolius or Cyperus involucratus
This is another of my tropical favorites.
In appearance it seems delicate with its
stems
topped by slender leaves in a circular pattern, but
this is a hardy plant able to grow in sun or shade.
Its one requirement is a moist environment or at least
one that is not dry. When it finds a comfortable home
it will spread maybe more than you'd like.
From: Southern Africa
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden
at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: The umbrella palm
will survive in almost any setting, but it will thrive
in a sunny or semi
shady place with lots of water. In our garden in Montserrat,
this plant has never been more than three feet high.
We got
the plant from
some friends several years ago and theirs was more than four
feet high. Go figure! Ours are green and multiplying so they
must be happy even though they have become shorter by a foot!
I gave a clump of these palms to a friend who planted them in
an undrained cement enclosed garden; her palms are now six feet
tall!
Text & Photographs
Copyrighted ©KO 2008/2010

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