The Prostitute Palm?

Published in Highlights

Palm trees are not native to Croatia, but they thrive in the Mediterranean climate of the coastal regions.

The palm branch is a symbol of Victory, triumph and eternal life. It is also a symbol of peace. For the village-like town of Vrboska, known as the 'Little Venice' on Hvar, a single palm tree defines the image of the place. Rising modestly from the centre of the little islet called Škojić (the local dialect word for islet), the palm provides a charming visual focal point in Vrboska's seafront.

 

Škojić is used for summer entertainments, serving as a magical backdrop to events such as Vrboska's boat-concerts, and the perfect setting for performances such as 'Two ladies in the summer night', staged on July 10th 2014. Pictures from Vrboska's cultural programmes can be viewed on the Vrboska Tourist Board's Facebook page.

It was therefore a (nasty) surprise to many that the local council had considered and approved a proposal to remove the palm tree and re-plant Škojić for complete cover with spruce (genus picea, Croatian smrča), myrtle (myrtus communis, part of the myrtaceae family, Croatian mirta), pistachio (pistacia vera, member of the cashew family, Croatian pistacija), and carob (ceratonia siliqua, family Fabaceae, Croatian rogač). The news aroused a strong reaction, with some two hundred locals immediately signing a petition to save the palm. Opinions were expressed on the internet, with a UK tree expert who has a holiday home in Vrboska describing Škojić's single palm as an icon and a strong visual element anchoring the town's disparate seafront buildings. Local reporter Mirko Crnčević wrote a measured piece in Slobodna Dalmacija on July 21st 2014, which was followed by a wide-reaching commentary by Jurica Pavičić in national daily Jutarnji list on July 26th.

The Škojić palm has not been in place for all that long: pictures from the 1970s, such as that in Niko Duboković's excellent little guidebook to Hvar (first published in 1974, Croatian text available on the internet), show the islet covered in shrubs and trees. But despite being a relative newcomer, the palm has established itself as an emblem which, it seems, most residents and loyal visitors wish to keep. It has witnessed all the everyday and festive activities of the town, including major events such as the 2014 Procession in celebration of the quatercentenary of Vrboska's Weeping Cross. Many feel that no photograph of the Vrboska harbour would be complete without it.

The architect of the landscaping project, Dobrila Kraljić, justified the proposed destruction of the palm by terming it "exceedingly eccentric and pretentious". She accused it of sticking out like a sore thumb and seducing the eye, of conjuring up reckless exoticism. To her it was "inauthentic" and out of keeping with the environment behind it. Her ruthless denigration of the poor palm evoked a tart response from fellow-architect Barbara Matejčić, who said it sounded as though Dobrila Kraljić was describing some Eastern European prostitute, not a tree. This comment may imply racism and perhaps an unwarranted slur on the oldest profession in this pedantically politically-correct world, but one can appreciate the point nonetheless.

Is the poor lambasted palm "inauthentic"? And even if it is, is that a crime worthy of the death sentence? Does the same apply to all the other palms lining Vrboska's streets and adorning the gardens? There are a lot of them, and not only in Vrboska but all over Dalmatia.

Palm trees certainly arrived in Dalmatia from elsewhere; as did a lot of other trees, shrubs and plants. One of the joys of horticulture is the way successful plant immigration enhances a landscape. Traveller Maude Holbach, after visiting Dalmatia at the beginning of the 20th century, described her impressions of the plants flourishing on Hvar, which was then known as Lesina:
"As might be expected from its climate, all kinds of southern plants and trees flourish on Lesina, among them the date palm, olives, oranges, and lemons, giant agaves and eucalyptus." ('Dalmatia: the Land Where East Meets West' by Maude Holbach, pub. Cosimo inc., first published 1910, p 211.) On Vis (Lissa), she came across a palm of magnificent stature: "Hard by the site of the Roman villa is a date-palm, which is unmatched for size and beauty upon the shores and islands of the Adriatic. It grows in a neglected garden by the seashore and lifts its stately head full eighty feet or more into the air, rising from a bed of wild flowers and surrounded by satellite palms which would be noticeable elsewhere, and seem small only in comparison with their giant neighbour.
Three hundred years at least, the natives say, this monarch among palms has kept watch and ward upon the shores of Adria. It witnessed the invasion of the armies of the Crescent, which sent a terrified people crowding to the towers of refuge and defence, which still stand, and add a very pcturesque touch to the town. There seems no reason why it should not stand here for centuries still, and witness the awakening of sleeping Lissa to the throb of modern life which is surely coming." (ibid. p 218)
 

Thank Heaven Ms Kraljić was not around then to propose eliminating this magnificant specimen and its natural companions. A manicured orderly cultivated garden would not have made the same impression on this perceptive visitor. Wild flowers are an important part of Dalmatia's identity and personality. Tragically, it seems the decision-makers for Jelsa Council's horticultural arrangements are unaware of the part wild flowers with their natural beauty play in attracting tourists. For instance, the wild flowers which adorned the road islands around Jelsa with vibrant colour in the spring were mercilessly eradicated, leaving depressing expanses of bare earth. The shrubs planted to fill the space were ruthlessly cut back into an unnatural neatness. In particular, the forcible restraint of the rosemary, which should be allowed to grow and spread freely, is not an attractive sight.

Can the cost of revamping Škojić be justified? Personally, I doubt it. There are many more urgent needs within the locality which are not met because of a shortage of funds, despite the successful efforts of Jelsa's current mayor, Nikša Peronja, to reduce the debt left over from the previous authorities. A recycling system, which is vital for the health of the community in the Jelsa region, is not yet in sight, despite being an important part of the Croatian law on sustainable rubbish management, in keeping with European directives.

PRESERVE THE ŠKOJIĆ PALM!

Why?

1. Škojić is very attractive as it is

2. In its present form, Škojić is ideal for staging concerts, readings and other events

3. The Škojić palm is a unique emblem identifying Vrboska

4. It is an established tourist attraction

 

© Vivian Grisogono MA(Oxon) 2014

 

Media

Vrboska in 1969, without the palm Video uploaded to Youtube by Pero Razović
You are here: Home highlights The Prostitute Palm?

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Head of seabed authority accused of abandoning neutrality at critical point with first commercial application imminent

    Michael Lodge, a British lawyer and the head of the UN-affiliated body responsible for governing mining in the high seas, has been criticised by diplomats who claim he has been pushing them to accelerate the start of deep-sea mining.

    A German diplomat said Lodge – the secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) – has a duty of neutrality and has overstepped his role in resisting measures put forward by some council members that could slow down approval of the first mining proposals, according to the New York Times.

    Continue reading...

  • IPCC report says only swift and drastic action can avert irrevocable damage to world

    Scientists have delivered a “final warning” on the climate crisis, as rising greenhouse gas emissions push the world to the brink of irrevocable damage that only swift and drastic action can avert.

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made up of the world’s leading climate scientists, set out the final part of its mammoth sixth assessment report on Monday.

    Continue reading...

  • Broughton, Yorkshire:The estate isonly three years into the most transformative example of rewilding in England

    Isn’t it strange that green is the colour we most associate with nature concern. What bright green invariably means in the fields of the northern uplands, such as the Yorkshire Dales, is a place where wildlife has been almost completely purged. The point about field colour is so dramatically made at the Broughton estate you’d think it had been contrived precisely to convey this message. Here, the rolling hills, just south of the national park, have been planted with 280,000 trees of 15 species across 192 hectares (474 acres). In 2023, a further 72 hectares of the same bright green hue are earmarked for conversion to wood pasture.

    Currently, the planted areas are a forest of plastic tree-sleeves, but even in this raw state, the dominant impression is of the terrain’s underlying colour, which is a kind of matted grey-brown. Yet a tongue of the old livid-green sheepwalk intrudes into these rewilding sections and the difference couldn’t be sharper.

    Continue reading...

  • Invasive house mice threaten endangered seabirds and wildlife on Marion Island in Indian Ocean

    Non-native house mice are to be removed from Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean to protect the wandering albatross and other endangered seabirds, in the world’s largest eradication programme of its kind.

    Mice accidentally introduced on to the remote island by 19th-century seal hunters have thrived in warmer and drier conditions over the past 30 years, devastating the island’s invertebrates and plants, and then devouring the chicks and even adults of ground- and burrow-nesting seabirds.

    Continue reading...

  • Regulation may allow ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers that can run on fossil fuel gas, and are unlikely ever to use hydrogen

    Ministers are preparing to allow new houses to continue to be fitted with gas boilers, long after they were supposed to be phased out, campaigners fear.

    A loophole being considered for the forthcoming future homes standard, a housing regulation in England intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from newly built homes in line with the net zero target, would allow new homes to be fitted with “hydrogen-ready” boilers.

    Continue reading...

  • Avian flu has decimated the marine creatures on the country’s Pacific coastline and scientists fear it could be jumping from mammal to mammal

    At first, it appears to be dead. Its head lies in the sand, and a small tide pool has formed around it. Its shoulder blades jut out and its coffee and beige pelt hangs loosely on protruding vertebrae that taper down to its long tail flippers.

    But the young male sea lion is still alive. Its round wet eyes blink and occasionally it tries to move, rolling over or lifting its head, as the flooding tide inches it up the beach in Chepeconde, about 75 miles south of Peru’s coastal capital, Lima.

    Continue reading...

  • Historian Dan Snow assembled team to ‘secure the shark for science’ but head, tail and fin were gone

    The discovery of a rare shark on a Hampshire beach is as valuable as the unearthing of an ancient treasure trove, an expert has said, as calls grow for the return of the head, tail and fin, which were removed before scientists could salvage the carcass.

    The 2-metre (6ft) animal, believed to be a smalltooth sand tiger shark, would normally only be seen in warmer waters – and rarely anywhere north of the Bay of Biscay. Scientists believe the weekend discovery can help them learn more about how the species develops and lives its life.

    Continue reading...

  • Ofwat says new powers will be used if firms fail to reach performance and environmental goals

    The UK water regulator is to use new powers to block companies from shareholder payouts if they fail to hit performance and environmental targets.

    Ofwat, which in December heavily criticised some of the country’s biggest suppliers over the size of dividend payments relative to their financial performance, said the new rules would also mean water companies would “maintain a higher level of overall financial health”.

    Continue reading...

  • Government urged to ratify UN convention in order to protect undersea areas like shipwrecks and now-submerged First Nations heritage sites

    The underwater world – from shipwrecks with human remains inside to First Nations sites that are tens of thousands of years old – needs better protection, a parliamentary committee has found.

    Pirates have targeted second world war shipwrecks for scrap metal, looters have been trophy hunting in sunken boats and the bodies of drowned sailors have been disturbed in the process. Technological advancements mean Australia’s underwater cultural heritage is more vulnerable than ever, the committee heard.

    Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoonemail newsletters for your daily news roundup

    Continue reading...

  • Ladybirds know how good they look, and they don’t keep it to themselves

    The ladybird gets the first part of its name from Our Lady, TheLady, Mary. Its spots – seven, if you are in Europe – symbolise Mary’s seven sorrows, its red shell the cloak she wears sometimes, when she is feeling passionate or loving, or devoted to her son, or, when she’s in a particularly generous mood, devoted to all of humanity.

    Ladybirds come from the coccinellid family of beetles, the name for which comes from the Latin for scarlet. They were given this title by Pierre André Latreille, a priest who had grown up an orphan and was thrown into a dungeon during the French Revolution and released because he recognised a rare species of beetle.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

  • Humanity is set to blow past 1.5°C of planetary warming by the early 2030s, according to a new report released today.

  • More than one million species are at risk of extinction largely because they are being pushed out of places where they have long lived — known as “ranges.” But not all range loss looks the same.

  • Roughly two-thirds of the world’s oceans lie beyond national boundaries in an area known as the “high seas” — yet only about 1 percent of that largely unexplored expanse has been protected. Now, nearly 200 countries have agreed on the first-ever United Nations treaty to protect the high seas.

  • From “blue carbon” to “ecosystem services,” environmental jargon is everywhere. Conservation International looks to make sense of it in an occasional explainer series. In this installment, we explore the role “HFLDs,” play in storing climate-warming carbon.

  • A recent article claims that buying carbon offsets for your flight doesn't help the climate crisis. This conclusion is bafflingly wrong: Paying to protect an area of forest to offset the climate footprint of your flight does in fact — demonstrably and verifiably — help.

  • For millions of people around the world who are learning to survive in the face of droughts, floods and more frequent storms, climate change is not a future problem — it’s here now. Nature can be a powerful ally in adapting to these impacts.

  • Increasing drought and urban expansion have contributed to the destruction and degradation of 35 percent of the world’s wetlands. How might we stymie this decline? Introducing beavers back into their natural habitats is a good start.

  • The gender gap in science is no secret. And while the number of women pursuing careers in science is steadily rising, the lack of representation can be a tough hurdle to overcome.

  • When U.S. President Joseph Biden meets with Brazil’s newly elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in Washington this week, climate change and the fate of the Amazon will be one of the many items of discussion, according to news reports.

  • The recent United Nations biodiversity and climate summits ended with major commitments for stemming climate change and stopping the loss of biodiversity. As nations now turn to implementing these ambitious goals, there’s one persistent sticking point: funding.