Those pillars of Los Angeles society

A friend from Michigan and I were recently in Maui, where we admired the beautiful palm trees. Because I lived my first 30 years in Santa Monica, I was quite familiar with palms, so I proceeded to “educate” my friend about them, especially the Canary Island variety. I described the problems Beverly Hills is experiencing, and the enormous cost to replace individual trees when they die. I got the impression that my friend thought I was embellishing a wee bit, so I have e-mailed him, with delight, Emily Green’s great article (“Palms in Twilight,” July 8).

Terry Flanagan

Oakhurst

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HAVING planted several palms at my house, I enjoyed Emily Green’s excellent article. She mentions that date palms are emblematic of the Holy Land. In England long ago, a person who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land took the name Palmer, like a Muslim takes the name Al Haj to show he has made a pilgrimage to Mecca.

In the Las Vegas area, small Canary Island date palms and Mexican fan palms in 5-gallon containers cost about $7 on sale. They are only about 3 feet tall, but if planted systematically could easily renew the Los Angeles area’s palm count over a few years at relatively little cost. People might enjoy seeing them grow.

Thomas F. Hirsch

Henderson, NV

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To me, the common palm tree is a gangly, anorexic telephone pole that provides no shade -- essential in summertime in Southern California. The California oak and sycamore are much more majestic; plus, they are native to California and provide shade to humans, flora and fauna.

Brian Ong

Orange