U Is For Unusual

With Fronds Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I’d never seen a palm tree with fronds of any colour except dark green - until I suddenly spotted this tree in Langkawi, Malaysia. We were exploring the town when I saw this unusual sight across the road.

At first I thought it might have been a single albino tree, but then I realised it was ringed by three or four others. They were not fully mature trees, for unlike the towering palms that I’m accustomed to seeing, these would not have been more than five or six metres tall.

I figured I needed a dark colour in the frame, to contrast the ghostly colour of the fronds. I was lucky. On the other side of the trees was a construction area. I scouted around from a safe distance and noticed this blue corrugated metal barricade, which was perfect for what I wanted.

But if there’s an arborist out there who can tell us something about these ghost palms, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Or maybe the rare sight could be explained by a palm reader.

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