Is this naturally occurring?

August 3, 2019 9:36 AM

I noticed this on a palm tree. Is it man-made? If yes, what is it for?
posted by bergnotburg to Science & Nature (9 answers total)

Could it be a burlap cold weather blanket that's been forgotten?
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:42 AM on August 3, 2019

Yeah, that looks like a wrap used to protect palm trees from winter weather, or alternately to protect them while they are being moved.
posted by rednikki at 9:59 AM on August 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've seen similar things on palm trees in Kenya to catch the nuts before they fall and hit the ground (or a person walking under the tree). I can't tell from your photo where on the tree the bag is positioned, but the ones I saw were relatively high up the trunk, not far below the branches, and were wide enough to catch things.
posted by rpfields at 10:01 AM on August 3, 2019

I think it’s part of the tree. The frond has broken off and that’s what's left.
posted by gryphonlover at 10:04 AM on August 3, 2019

Best answer: I think that is the naturally-occurring leaf sheath. I'd be very surprised if it's anything else. (Credentials: 12+ years living in close proximity to equatorial palm trees.)
posted by whitewall at 10:22 AM on August 3, 2019 [7 favorites]

Natural.
What whitewall said.
Credentials: I garddn for a living.
posted by sciencegeek at 11:22 AM on August 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Nature has “discovered” the utility of long cross-linked fibers too. See here for an accessible overview of Palm physiology. This is weathered pseudobark. It looks weird in part because palms are organized rather differently than dicots and gymnosperms that many of us temperate folk are more familiar with.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:43 AM on August 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

That's just how palm trees are. Natural.
posted by humboldt32 at 12:14 PM on August 3, 2019

Natural! I knew exactly what it was because I used these to make a roof for a fort as a kid.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:20 AM on August 5, 2019