Palm Corrosion on MS440

[Treeman14]

When I worked in aus there was one palm that had DREADFULL thorns on it, the only way to describe them was like back to back fish hooks all the way down the foliage. anyone else seen those?

Washingtonia robusta

 

[Bermie]

[But regarding that corrosion in general, would it be possible to attach a small sacrificial anode to the saw? And if possible, I wonder if it would be effective at all.[/QUOTE]

Are you thinking of a zinc anode similar to what we use on boats in salty environments? There it's the dissimilar metals, salt and stray electrical currents that are causing the corrosion, and the weakest metal looses! The anode would have to be attached directly in contact with the metal of the saw casing to work, and if its just a matter of a chemical reaction it might not work, worth a try if you can figure out how to attach the thing!

 

[Ekka]

Washingtonia robusta

I think he's refering to the Livistonia variety, similar but they have black prickles/thorns that break off easily (unlike washingtonia) when they get stuck in you. Similar fan style frond. The other feature is the butt end off the fronds are straight where washingtonia's tend to cross over.

 

[Sylvatica]

Are you thinking of a zinc anode similar to what we use on boats in salty environments?

Yes, but I don't know if zinc is anodic to magnesium alloy. Or for that matter, if anything is anodic to magnesium.

There are very high-tech anodic coatings (some like plating, some like resin-based paint) for the corrosion protection of magnesium, but it would probably cost as much a a new saw.

 

[rumination]

Koa Man, the palm over by Keeaumoku and King is a cohune nut palm (Attalea cohune), native to Mexico and Central America. It is one big old palm!

 

[Koa Man]

Thanks Leon. Always wondered what it was. Glad I don't have to trim that thing.

 

[vharrison2]

Leon, no Pics????

 

[Koa Man]

This thread is going off the subject, thanks to me, but Palms Online does not have a picture of the cohune either and is looking for one. Send them a picture to post online and they will credit your name online for the photo. I drive by there this weekend and take a picture, if one is not posted by then. There site says up to 15m tall, but these are way taller than that.

http://www.palms.netfirms.com/cgi-bin/palmdb.cgi?attaleacohune

 

[vharrison2]

Is this it?http://www.palmworld.net/Photo.asp?PALMID=16 I found this at the Betrock site

 

[Koa Man]

vharrison2,
These palms look different than that picture. I will go take a pix this weekend for sure and post it here. At that time I will probably need to start a different thread on this subject instead of hijacking this one.

 

[vharrison2]

We need a thread just for palms that could go anywhere. Just somewhere to talk about palms! I love palms, we have over 30 palms in our yard. All kinds. I remember my husband telling me he was bringing me a teddy bear. I was thinking to myself....I don't like stuffed animals. Thank goodness it was a teddy bear palm.

 

[Ekka]

Deadly palm

This one I don't know the name of and it's deadly. It has a smooth greyish trunk with no remnants of old leaves just needles 2"+ long, hard and real sharp all over it ... deadly.

 

[vharrison2]

I have never seen one that tall. Greg is combing the Betrock book and came up with the acrocomia genius or the bactris. Both have the thorns and get very tall.

 

[rumination]

Vharrison, you are probably right. I thought it was a Bactris and my boss said it might also be an Acrocomia. Hard to tell from the photos.