Rurally in this region a single phoenix palm was a common choice for the front lawn.
I can only guess that as natives of both Greece and Turkey they were brought home by our soldiers as an exotic souvenir.
In urban Taradale the same exotics have been upsetting Church Rd natives.
Many attested Napier City Council should not have felled a stand of 78-year-old Phoenix Palms outside Taradale Primary School.
At first it seemed the residents' argument was solid - as the rationale for felling seemed to be based only on talk of rats, pigeons, guano and falling debris.