I've been fascinated by the importation of palm trees across various colonies around the world, and I am wondering where the first batch of those planted in HK came from (and when they were introduced). Does anyone have some information on that or some pointers as to where I might find it ?
Most of the species in Hong Kong are non-native except for a few (of smaller size, some are listed on the HK Herbarium website, although I don't know if they have a full census: https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/search-result/index.html?quick_search=palm&page=2 ).
I know that:
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“Historic photos of the city’s streetscapes from as early as 1860 show mature street trees, indicating that planting must have commenced right at the outset of the colonial period.”
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“Afforestation, however, was initiated some thirty years after the inception of the city, and only started to have effect in the 1880s and 1890s, at a time when the initial phase of street tree planting was coming to an end.”
(Robert Pryor, Mathew Street Tree Planting in Hong Kong in the Early Colonial Period (1842–98)) - Tree-planting started along the streets before turning into afforestation efforts. As palm trees are usually used as a decorative tool, I think it must have started before the 1860s ?
- In a report by Charles Ford (first superintendent of the Hong Kong Botanical Gardens), Palms “have quite filled the ground” - 1879
- “By 1898, some thirty different tree and palm species had been planted along the City’s streets and roads” (Corlett, ‘Environmental forestry in Hong Kong: 1871–1997’)
Any pointers would be lovely, be it archives I could check or books/records ! Cheers