PALMS STILL STANDING NOT NATIVE TO LOS ANGELES - THE LANDMARKS HAVE LONG CAPTURED THE IMAGE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer The scene opens at twilight. A convertible is cruising west on Sherman Way, heading toward a rainbow sherbet sher·bet n. 1. also sher·bert A frozen dessert made primarily of fruit juice, sugar, and water, and also containing milk, egg white, or gelatin. 2. Chiefly British A beverage made of sweetened diluted fruit juice. sky on a road lined with tall skinny palms. There's no need for a date line. This is Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . This is the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . For more than 60 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time palm has been the iconic tree of Los Angeles. Never mind that it's not even a tree - it's a grass - or that there are many other species of tree more plentiful in the San Fernando Valley. But the palm - tall and skinny or squat and spiky - has captured the imagination and now embodies the sunny, carefree image of life in modern Los Angeles. Yet, palm trees may be falling from favor as government officials and residents become more environmentally conscious, and forgo the svelte palms for big, leafy trees that exude ex·ude v. To ooze or pass gradually out of a body structure or tissue. oxygen and filter pollution. ``I think Angelenos are understanding that city dwellers need more shade, and other health benefits, than a palm can provide,'' said Linda Eremita, Forestry Educator with Studio City-based TreePeople. ``And the palm is not a tree, but it's part of the grass family, like bamboo. You can easily confuse a utility pole A utility pole, telegraph pole, telephone pole, power pole, or telegraph post is a post or pole upon which telecommunication network equipment is situated. with a palm, except the palm has a tuft tuft (tuft) a small clump or cluster; a coil. tuft (toothbrush), n part of the toothbrush head, refers to the small, individual clusters of bristles that proceed from a single opening. of green on the top.'' Through its Trees for a Green LA program, the Department of Water and Power has given away nearly 58,000 trees and there wasn't a single palm included. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to plant one million trees over the next few years promotes drought-tolerant shade trees, not palms. ``We're going to promote California-friendly trees, the type that would use water more wisely and be more suitable to our landscape,'' said Paula Daniels, a Board of Public Works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. commissioner overseeing the implementation of the Million Tree Initiative. ``You don't get the environmental benefits with palms.'' The tall palms that line local streets are not native to the area. They were introduced in the late 1800s and early 1900s when ranchers and developers planted palms to delineate property lines, boulevards and property entrances. ``You're coming to San Fernando Valley in the 1920s and you were thinking about buying some land, so a lot of times the developer would line the roads with palms to create a grand entrance for you,'' said Frank McDonough, botanical information consultant at the Los Angeles County Arboretum arboretum: see botanical garden. arboretum Place where trees, shrubs, and sometimes herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. An arboretum may be a collection in its own right or a part of a botanical garden. . Palms grow fast, are easily uprooted and moved, and don't require too much water, so they were ideal for developers looking to entice Easterners to sunny Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . Mexican fan palms, the tall skinny models were fairly inexpensive and were often used to mark long avenues, such as Sherman Way and Van Nuys Boulevard. Palms remained popular for several decades as homeowners and landscape architects tried to create tropical Shangri-la around their homes and swimming pools, with the added benefit of leaves to rake each fall. While there is still strong pull for palms in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. and other locations seeking that exotic look, there's a tremendous demand for shade trees in Los Angeles, said Robert Crudup, president of Valley Crest Tree Company in Calabasas. Coast live oaks, liquid ambers, Canary Island pines. These broad beauties have giant canopies that stretch over sidewalks and block the sun from homes, helping to lessen the need for air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. . With the long roots, they help soak up stormwater runoff, and their leaves or needles consume air pollutants. Shade trees are becoming increasingly common and shade tree saplings are sprouting all over the San Fernando Valley, driven by new tree initiatives and laws that require shade in new parking lots. The city's urban forestry Urban forestry is the care and management of urban forests, i.e., tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry advocates the role of trees as a critical part of the urban infrastructure. division maintains an estimated 75,000 palms in medians and along the roadways, but these foresters plant fewer palms now. ``Because our goal is to get as many environmental benefits as possible - shade, rain interception, stormwater interception, particulate matter particulate matter n. Abbr. PM Material suspended in the air in the form of minute solid particles or liquid droplets, especially when considered as an atmospheric pollutant. Noun 1. absorption, we prefer the shade trees,'' said Ron Lorenzen, a superintendent in urban forestry. Plus, palms need their fronds trimmed much more frequently than shade trees need trimming. The department does plant new palms along certain thoroughfares, such as Ventura Boulevard where the corridor's specific plan calls more palms. But now city foresters try to plant shade trees in between the palms. And as the older palms die, the city will consult with communities to see whether they want replacement palms or a shade trees. So will there be a day when the skyline is palm-free? Will the view from Mulholland be a forest of green instead of lines of pom-poms? Not likely. No matter how much people crave shade trees today, there will still be a demand for the skyward sky·ward adv. & adj. At or toward the sky. sky  wards adv. stretch of a palm in
landscape design.
``Trees have trends,'' said Crudup with Valley Crest. ``Palms may not as popular today as they were ten years ago, but I would predict they'll be popular again or even more popular.'' They're too important to the image of sunny Southern California. Palms are part of this myth that plays out in films, fuels tourism and prompts millions of Midwesterners to trade in snow for life in Los Angeles. ``Can you envision a day when there's a tree that says LA better? I can't imagine what the tree would be,'' Crudup said. ``Nothing says Southern California like a palm.'' Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh(at)news.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Palms have long been associated with Southern California, but L.A. is deciding that there might be better choices. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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