Trachycarpus takil

Kumaon palm

Ever since Martin Gibbons went to India in 1990 to rediscover Trachycarpus takil, this palm has been a major talking point, and not always for the right reasons!

The rediscovery of Trachycarpus takil is well documented in both the International Palm Society journal and the European Palm Society journal, and many a palm enthusiast has enjoyed reading Martin Gibbons' account of how he went back to rediscover the palm.

Unfortunately, since then, all seed that has come out of Khumoan through various Indian seed dealers has been harvested from mature Trachycarpus in Naini Tal, an old colonial hill town in the region. These Trachycarpus were very large and due to the locality were wrongly assumed to be Trachycarpus takil. This particular tree is much more closely related to Trachycarpus fortunei, has caused much confusion, and is worthy of an article in its own right due to its unique characteristics.

After 17 years, there are still no decent photographs to prove the existence of Trachycarpus takil in the wild, and after several years of trying we finally found somebody willing and able to travel to some locations described by a Major Madden in 1847. Major Madden was an Army Colonel with an interest in botany who wrote about Trachycarpus populations in several locations at between 6,500 and 8,000 feet height in the Khumoan region whilst he was stationed there.

The photos on this webpage were taken at precisely the locations Major Madden described some 160 years ago. It can clearly be seen by the shallow divisions on the leaf and lack of trunk fibre that this is the real Trachycarpus takil described and classified by Beccari in 1905, and it matches the Trachycarpus takil growing in the Rome Botanical Gardens.

The fibre and leaf shape seem much more similar to Trachycarpus princeps, manipur and oreophilus, than to fortunei. This palm grows quite close to the permanent snowline and the locals confirmed they can experience several months of snow in winter at the higher elevations, so it promises to be one of the cold-hardiest palms in existence!

The odd thing is that there appeared to be very few seeds set; none of the extensive range of photos show palms bearing healthy crops of seeds. It could be that they are eaten by animals or insects.The exception is a single palm leaning over the edge of a precipice, which would seem to bear out this theory.

We do not have the benefit of having been there so can only publish photos taken on site, but the good news is that Martin Gibbons and Toby Spanner did revisit the area 2 years ago, and should be publishing a definitive and detailed report to finally put all the rumours to rest.

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