**Umbrella
Palm, Umbrella Sedge, Galingale Cyperus alternifolius or Cyperus
involucratus
This is another of my tropical favorites.
In appearance it seems delicate with its stems topped
by slender leaves in a circular pattern, but this
is a hardy plant able to grow in sun or shade. Its
one requirement is a moist environment or at least
one that is not dry. When it finds a comfortable
home it will spread maybe more than you'd like.
Benefits:
From: Southern Africa
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden
at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: The umbrella palm
will survive in almost any setting, but it will thrive
in a sunny or semi shady place with lots of water. In
our garden in Montserrat, this plant has never been
more than three feet high. We got the plant from some
friends several years ago and theirs was more than four
feet high. Go figure! Ours are green and multiplying
so they must be happy even though they have become shorter
by a foot! I gave a clump of these palms to a friend
who planted them in an undrained cement enclosed garden;
her palms are now six feet tall!
Text & Photographs
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