The vice-president of the Funchal City Council, Idalina Perestrelo, accompanied, this afternoon, the planting of 12 palm trees on Avenida do Mar that come to replace the ones lost by the beetle pest of this central strip.
On the occasion, Idalina Perestrelo explained that “this species of palm now planted with the common name palm of Mexico (washingtonia), are examples considered robust with a wind and drought resistant growth, of great ornamental value, characteristics worthy for one of the main avenues of the our city”.
Leaving the guarantee that the municipality of Funchal will continue to invest in the municipality’s green spaces, Idalina Perestrelo also mentioned that the planting of these 12 palm trees “intends to replace the specimens in the boilers that were previously occupied by Canarian palm trees (phoenix canariensis), and that had to be slaughtered due to the pest of the palm beetle (rhynchophorus ferrugineus) “.
“We opted for this species, since we have not identified any cases in the county where this pest was attacked in this type of palm trees in the last 12 years,” said the Vice President.
The municipality of Funchal also planted three palm trees (phoenix sylvestris) at the entrance to the Avenida do Mar pier, since those that existed there were also targeted by the palm beetle and will soon replace three other real palm trees from the vat ( roystonea regia) by the species acquired to align the specimens.
Let’s hope they can replace many more tress that have been lost all over the island.