very spiny-trunked floriferous tree ID’d by John J as Pachypodium lamerei

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MikeHardman

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My friend in Neo Chorio (western Cyprus) has this excellent specimen in her garden.
But what is it?

It is almost 3m tall, it has leaves a bit like frangipani and flowers also a bit like frangipani but much bigger. I can't tell if they are fragrant because I cannot get past the spines!
I am not sure if the petals have a turbinate arrangement or not.

It is the only one of these I have seen during my ten years in Cyprus.
This specimen could be up to 25 years old (the age of the villa), so it has survived a range of abnormal weather conditions, and it has done so without showing any scars. So it is clearly suited to the climate in Cyprus.

//Mike
« Last Edit: July 26, 2019, 09:52:56 AM by Alisdair »
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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John J

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Re: very spiny-trunked floriferous tree...
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2019, 04:43:12 AM »
Mike, try Pachypodium lamerei.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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MikeHardman

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Re: very spiny-trunked floriferous tree...
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2019, 06:43:47 AM »
Thank you John!
I might have known you'd know.
Glad to see it is a relative of Plumeria (Apocynaceae).

At http://www.pachypodium.org, I see two candidates:
- P. lamerii (spines in clusters of 3)
- P. rutenbergianum (spines in clusters of 2)
(though not all the photos there may be representative,
but there are plenty of other images online)

As far as I can see, zooming in on my photo, the spines are in clusters of 2,
which makes it P. rutenbergianum. But I will check that.

//Mike
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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Fleur Pavlidis

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Fat leg from Lamia?
MGS member, Greece. I garden in Attica, Greece and Mt Goulinas (450m) Central Greece

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John J

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Mike, the website that you posted has an incorrect spelling, it is Pachypodium lamerei, but that is insignificant.
A cousin of Thea's has 2 in her garden that are over 2 metres tall. As far as we can remember they are a little over 20 years old.  I have also seen others, of varying sizes, around the island. P. lamerei is apparently far more commonly grown than P. rutenbergianum which can grow to a height of 8 metres, so I think I would stick my neck out and go with the former.
As for the spines, the specimens that I know have them in threes, 2 pointing downwards and a much smaller one pointing out, if this helps.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2019, 09:41:55 AM by John J »
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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MikeHardman

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Thank you, John.

I confirm that the spines are in clusters of three, so it is P. lamerei. See photo.

The owner tells me it was bought from London Supermarket/Nursery, Mesogi Avenue, Paphos; many years ago.

//Mike
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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Alisdair

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Splendid photo of those wicked spines, Mike!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society