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Offbeat Bonsai
Dwarf Rhapis palms (Rhapis excelsa) and a few other palms can be used in
bonsai. Sort of. They can be kept small by root pruning, but not everyone would consider them true bonsai. Dwarf bamboos are also grown, shall I say, with bonsai, rather than as bonsai. Iris, Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40 "The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), 1818-1885 |
Offbeat Bonsai
Dwarf Rhapis palms are naturally dwarf so they do not need a lot of
root pruning to stay bonsai size. A lot of dwarf conifers are used in bonsai. I guess some bonsai purists might consider that "cheating" too. I read an article in Smithsonian magazine a few years ago about people who would collect severely stunted trees from the wild and use those in bonsai. That might be considered cheating as well. It is a matter of opinion whether dwarf palms are true bonsai, pseudobonsai or "offbeat bonsai." The author of the following web article felt that purists in palm societies and bonsai societies did not fully appreciate bonsai palms either: http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Artic...nsaiPalms.html There is not complete agreement on the definition of a tree. Many people do consider a large banana plant to be a tree, including the USDA Forest Service: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/trees/MUSSPPA.pdf Webster's dictionary says a tree can be defined as "a shrub or herb of arborescent form, a banana tree." The state tree of South Carolina is the palmetto (Sabal palmetto), which is a monocot. Tree definitions may contain one or more of the following requirements: 1. Minimum height, such as taller than 15 or 20 feet. 2. A single trunk, but that requirement breaks down with multi-trunk trees such as white birch. 3. Distinct crown. 4. Woody trunk. Banana can fit all but the last. Trunks of palm trees, cycad trees and tree ferns could also be challenged on requirement 4 as could extinct species, such as tree lycopods (Lepidodendron spp.). Tall bamboos are often referred to as trees also. David R. Hershey (Iris Cohen) wrote in message ... Dwarf Rhapis palms (Rhapis excelsa) and a few other palms can be used in bonsai. Sort of. They can be kept small by root pruning, but not everyone would consider them true bonsai. Dwarf bamboos are also grown, shall I say, with bonsai, rather than as bonsai. Iris, Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40 |
Bonsai
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Bonsai
If dwarf conifers are accepted as bonsai, then why not dwarf palms or
bamboos? In my opinion using a dwarf plant minimizes the accomplishment of dwarfing or miniaturizing a plant which is at the heart of the art and science of bonsai. I agree that people often transplant stunted plants from nature to make a bonsai. That doesn't make it desirable. In my opinion, it is a type of cheating to merely take stunted plants from nature for use as bonsai. It's sort of like faux topiary, with English ivy or other vine grown on wire frames, which does not require the skill or patience of real topiary. It's also undesirable because more wild specimens are lost. Are there clear historical records that say ancient bonsai growers preferred to gather stunted plants from the wild? Or was that a short cut method? A lot of botanists work for the government. Even if that makes them "bureaucrats", it doesn't mean they stop being botanists. Webster's Dictionary usually reflects common use of words and they say banana can be defined as a tree. If you allow that a "palm has a somewhat woody trunk" then you could extend that to bananas or bamboo as well. It depends how you define wood. Plant anatomist Katherine Esau defined wood as "Usually secondary xylem of gymnosperms and dicotyledons, but also applied to any other xylem." Monocots such as banana trees and bamboo also have xylem. Most monocots do not have the secondary growth that produces wood in gymnosperms and dicots. Palms develop the full width of their trunk during primary growth. Some monocot stems get wider as they get taller because the lower portions cannot expand with secondary growth. Screw pine (Pandanus spp.) develops prop roots to support such top-heavy stems. Bamboo stems are often called woody so that makes tall bamboos fit the definition of a tree: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/po.htm David R. Hershey (Iris Cohen) wrote in message ... A lot of dwarf conifers are used in bonsai. I guess some bonsai purists might consider that "cheating" too. Not lately. It is a common practice, even in Japan. I read an article in Smithsonian magazine a few years ago about people who would collect severely stunted trees from the wild and use those in bonsai. That might be considered cheating as well. Not at all. That is the way bonsai first started. There are specialists who do nothing but collect prize trees, establish them in pots, & sell them at high prices. The ambition of every salivating bonsai artist is to have at least one collected tree, preferably one he's collected himself. Many people do consider a large banana plant to be a tree, including the USDA Forest Service: Are they botanists or government bureaucrats? The state tree of South Carolina is the palmetto (Sabal palmetto), which is a monocot. Palms have a somewhat woody trunk, although the various conducting cells are arranged differently. Tall bamboos are often referred to as trees also. By whom? Iris, Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40 "The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), 1818-1885 |
Bonsai
David Hershey schreef
It depends how you define wood. Plant anatomist Katherine Esau defined wood as "Usually secondary xylem of gymnosperms and dicotyledons, but also applied to any other xylem." Monocots such as banana trees and bamboo also have xylem. David R. Hershey + + + This needs to be qualified by where xylem is found in monocots PvR. |
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