Palms are like grass on steroids more than is a tree.
They don't cut, hinge, chip, burn, decompose etc. as easy nor as cleanly as wood , as is not same biology nor structuring.
In hinging, the more flexible part of the hinge is on the innards that have less leveraged steering than the outers like can count on in real tree.
They are a monocot, if the mono growing tip is injured, game over vs. dicot tree of multiple growing tips and regrowths.
The layers are kinda reversed, to where the goody/honey runs to center not outer layers (as tree does).
You don't get the callousing when violate outer as is kinda a deadish corky non-woody exterior, but can make an invasion port.
>>the pic shown of devastation is years of damage would think
>>and not even smart enough to throw ladder/tie to stem up for first 20' or so at that.
It is thought that the outer dead, and inner honey build protects the honey-ish from blazing reflected heat upwards on bright sandy beaches.
Where a 'normal' tree could not take such abuse so much under the cap and has the hoeny-ish on the outside, more exposed in this model.
You usually can't repel, so must also walk down too w/spikes.
Going down can be more perilous than climbing up, as anything else.
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Spiking is seen as more acceptable, necessary but still try to play away from it.
Also, many palms coated with old, loose 'boots'/frond ends if not whole fronds on the way up.
This can stop a bicycle that needs a clean run.
If palm is like that on stalk, and not being paid to remove that only trim head, don't want to disturb stalk loose fronds as that part of look and get buried into trying to make it look right, and end up cleaning most of stalk as messed up on the loose fronds or just boots/ends left and not trimmed.
Can also be too deep to get spike thru to hit real meat to hold on to, and can't get bucket to all.
So climbing more of a foot feel of solid or slipping, fast motions and dividing weight to hands, lanyard and feets, feets scrambling in posittrack if start to slide etc.
The looseness of old 'boots' /ends of fronds or the whole fronds them selves can also slide from under you and from above you.
You can get trapped, actually smothered from downward slide of disturbed column of loose fronds etc sliding down onto you as try to climb.
This can also be serious weight.
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Some palms have 8" needles on fronds with nasty algae growth unseen but irritates. Needles seem to be leaflets starved of light near base of palm that has feathery leaflets up stalk of frond. Some have pointed 150# seed pods that invert as cut and can go thru someone on ground or pet etc., literally .
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All this can hide many nasties: rats, roaches, fire ants. bees, snakes etc. Rat running down leg while cutting is rather distracting for some reason.
Several times been at top, trimming head fronds on spikes and lanyard , saw running and snake pops out of head; really got to hold your water and not swing saw around cuz all it has to do is hit that 1/2" rope lanyard 1x and there ain't no branches to break fall on way down...
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Many over trim palms 'hedging ahead' to not have to trim again so soon, aiming for 10-2 o'clock or less
Really 9-3 or whatever just takes brown not green food supply and water draw machine.
As only small 'flower top' of limited green drawing water and food processing for whole plant;
now trying to draw water up maybe 80' with barest green sprouts sticking out only at 12 o'clock etc. as bad omen.
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We don't get coconuts this part of Florida.
Palms nice to look at, but hated working'em.
