When I think of Palm Trees, I think of those tall, skinny, Florida or Hawaii trees, standing firm against hurricane force winds. However. I have learned that there are six different kinds of Palm trees, right here in my home State of Georgia. According to Matt Gardener, of Gardening Bank, There are at least five different palm trees growing in Georgia: They are, Saw palmetto, cabbage palm trees, Mediterranean fan palm, windmill palm trees, and dwarf palmetto palm trees which are among the most popular types of palm trees in Georgia.
I am not even close to being an expert on Palm trees. But I am fascinated by their resilience and adaptability. Wind, water, cold, and heat seem bo fail at destroying them. Growing up in middle Georgia, along the Fall Line, I was familiar with the Palmetto Palm. They were prolific on Buffalo Creek, bordering the eastern edge of Deepstep, GA, my hometown. The Palmettos cover the Oconee River Swamp, further downstream as Buffalo Creek flows into the Oconee River.
We often used Palmetto fronds in decoration for play productions at Georgia Southern University, gathering them from Ogeechee River lowlands nearby campus. Golf course managers seem to love the Palmettos as ground cover in the rough of their golf courses.
It may be a stretch to make something of an analogy between Palm trees and human beings; for one thiing, we migrate. Even though Palm trees do not, migrate per se, to some degree, they do. The Buffalo Creek Palmettos, mentioned above are an example of such migration. Florida is about 300 miles South of the source of Buffalo Creek, with prolific Palmettos all along its banks. My sorta informed guess is that when Native Americans ages ago using that creek as a transportation avenue, likely spread plants and seeds as they camped alog its banks. Not to mention hurricane force winds of the past, probably dropping whole plants .
These palms, as did human beings, not only survived atmospheric assaults, but also thrived in new locations. I see an interesting and vital symbiotic relationship between Palm trees, yes, even the Palmetto Palms, and human beings. This glimpse is only a microcosm of The Creation; we are all related, and need each other. When greed, avarice, and egomania take over, God’s magnificent Creation suffers. When we live together in harmony, we thrive.
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2025