Ok, so before you panic and worry about how serious it was, Mat is fine and well. I just thought I’d sensationalise the heading a wee bit 
Yesterday Mat was pruning a large Blue Gum. On finishing the job he made his usual rapid descent out of the tree and landed straight on top of a perfectly positioned bit of pheonix palm throng. Someone must have been previously pruning the palm nearby and done a bad clean up job, leaving a big chunk with the nasty spine end sticking up at the perfect level for piercing Mat’s calf.
For those of you who haven’t had the delightful experience of a Pheonix Palm they have these long palm fronds (or throngs) with pinnate leaves which metamorphose into long viscious spines near the base. They are pretty easy to spike yourself with when handling, snapping off and leaving bits embedded in your skin. Mat has had a fair few spikings whilst doing tree work in Australia but luckily they have only been small bits and haven’t festered too much, gradually working their own way out after a few weeks. If you’re unlucky the wound can go septic or cause blood poisoning, supposedly because possums like to live in the palms causing the spikes to get coated with possum piss and other nasty bacteria.
This is a picture of a pheonix palm that Mat felled a while ago at Randwick Racecourse. Normally they would have to be climbed, the throngs all cut off (for some poor groundy to carefully get rid of) and then chogged down in bits. However, the size of the racecourse meant they could be felled in one for the excavator to come and take away and dump straight into the tub grinder. You can guage the size of this palm from Mat’s ute on the right!
They are fairly harmless at this size (unless you are the unfortunate one having to climb it for dead throng removal etc). However, they still do drop the odd dead throng by themselves and it amazes me that these things are so popular – especially in parks where a child could easily fall on top of a stray spike.
Here is an example of the spines at the base of each frond.
Anyway, the spike that nailed Mat yesterday went in deep and snapped off leaving a big chunk embedded in his calf. It was causing him some pain so he decided to go to the medical centre and get it removed. After poking him and prodding him a few times (much to Mat’s discomfort) the doctor announced that it wasn’t going to come out easily – no shit, that’s why Mat had gone to the doctor in the first place! – and had to cut him open. I couldn’t believe it when I came home and Mat declared that he had had to have two stitches. Of course this meant he was invalided for the night and I had to cook dinner – bless
Mat brougt home the offending spike so I took a picture of it next to a standard packet of Rizla to demonstrate size. It’s exactly 1.5cm long which is pretty big compared to the previous ones he’s had at only around 2mm.
Here is a picture of the wound – only small but it will certainly leave a scar – yet another one to add to Mat’s already impressive collection.
And here is a close-up.
Ok, so Pheonix palms aren’t deadly but it just goes to show that it’s not just Australian creatures that are out to get you. There are many other trees and plants out here that are spikey, poisonous, have seed pods filled with glass fibre-like hairs, etc, etc. You name it, Australia has it. We have a few baby phoenix palms at our house, all the worse because the spikes have a tendancy to stick out at body level. Needless to say we keep them well trimmed and in fact got rid of one entirely at the weekend (well it was right in the middle of one of the maraya hedges and must have self-seeded because no one in their right minds would purposely plant one there – would they?). The others may have to follow suite at some point and be replaced with something nice and unharmful. I dread to think about having children anywhere near them!
I should also mention that the Phoenix Palm, Phoenix canariensis, or Canary Island date palm, is not native to Australia but originates from… yep, the Canary Islands.
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Yes, they do hurt very much, i was pruning my canary island date palms yesturday and got stabbed by the spikes four times on my fingers, very painful like a blue bottle sting, next day, today, fingers are all puffed up had to take rings off, knuckles are very sore, hopefully not for too long now.
Nasty! Yeah, I think they can often get infected and take a while to heal if you don’t get all the of the spike out. I hope yours clears up quickly.
i was purning my date palm yesterday and got spiked between my ring finger and little finger. It BLED so much. Now my little finger is black and blue and so is the area around my knukle. Hopefully it will go down.
It bloody hurt and still does. Might have to go to the Dr.
I got stabbed in my forefinger knuckle six weeks ago, it is still swollen and black, someone please tell me this will go as it hurts still.
My experience of Mat’s wounds are that they hurt for a good week or so because there is normally part of the spike left inside. After a while he is able to squeeze it and the bit of remaining spike pops out, a bit like squeezing a spot. Once it’s out the pain goes and it heals up. I guess it takes a while for the piece to be expelled to the surface by the body.
I don’t think he’s had one for more than a month though and they have never gone black and blue so I would advise going to a doctor. You may have to have it surgically removed like above, if your body isn’t expelling it by itself.
o.k. thank you, I live in the Canary Islands, so I would hope the doctor knows best seeing as the Island is full of these vicious beautiful Palms. I shall let you know the outcome.
Good luck. Hope it heals up soon
Couldnt you sell the tree instead for chipping it?
It was a rediculously huge tree and as far as I know palm wood is not much good for anything, not even mulch. There have been jobs in the past where palms have been transplanted but only within the same area (i.e. a park), not sold to someone else as the cost would be astronomical.
I got 4 of theses speared into my shin today at he same time, an old frond left in the garden was sticking out onto the pathway and I turned around and started to run up the path I collided with the base of the frond where the last 4 of the spikes penetrated the outside of my left hand shin.
The frond was stuck in my leg via four of the spikes appx 6 inches long, I just grabbed the frond and pulled out the spikes almost all at the same time they were imbedded into my leg at least an inch each.
I was too busy to feel pain at the time however 6 hours after it happened my leg feels like it has been repeatedly hit by a sledge hammer .
Anyone know if these frond spikes have any toxic attributes?
Hi Realist. Sounds like a super nasty accident you had there.
As far as I know the tree itself doesn’t produce any toxins but if you live in Australia then there could be possums living and peeing in it. I guess other countries may also have their possum equivalents.
With a multiple spiking like yours I’d get it checked out by a doctor, especially if it’s still hurting in a day or so. It’s surprising how you can think you got all the spike out and then weeks later it pusses up and ejects a teeny piece that was left in there.
17 year old son had palm spike removed from
The top of his head today rather large and nasty looking. Went straight through his hat and embedded into his head . Has been removed successfully . Bit sore and groggy but is all good.
That sounds nasty. I haven’t met anyone that got spike in teh head before. I hope your son is fully recovered now.