Thursday, January 26, 2012

Mexican Fan Palm

MEXICAN FAN PALM (WASHINGTONIA ROBUSTA), CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, JANUARY 25, 2012

Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF 90mm f2.8 DI Macro
1/60 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Midwesterners may be mystified, but any Southern Californian will recognize this shaggy mess as the normal trunk bark of the Mexican Fan Palm, a south-of-the-border native that often lines city boulevards. For some no doubt obscure reason it's named for George Washington. I captured it during a foray to the tropical greenhouse at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Click on the photo for a bedsheet-sized version.

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