Can't help you on the ID - as I don't seen that one alot in Oregon. I wonder if it's in the Camelia family? Lovely brown stems on that thing, tho! A bit more info might help others to help you confirm it's name - for example - how long has it been there - how has it responded to seasons so far? Does it look like it may form flower buds as it matures? From the pix it looks like a cultivated evergreen perennial shrub, entering it's 3rd year, but possibly Deciduous, or somewhat tender and may need protection to remain evergreen. Looks like you are taking good care of it's water needs, and that it may be in a sheltered area...so you may be doing fine on care so far. Maybe consider rooting a few stem cuttings? I posted 2 Botanical-type photo links below that may help confirm ID - by looking more closely at details of growth. http://www.botanique.org/galeries-images/appareil-vegetatif/feuilles-alternes-elaeagnus-elaeagnaceae-article24329.html Or is it more like this one, with leaves growing parallel to one another on stems? http://www.botanique.org/galeries-images/appareil-vegetatif/feuilles-opposees-ligustrum-article24328.html Sorry about the French - but Species names are there for both plants and one might be yours! (Not all photos on that page are ogf the same plant - the page illustrates differing types of growth along stems) Here is a link that might be useful: Botanical ID Site - in English!

Thanks Jim! The slow growing trachy has proven to be very cold tolerant. Its a small plant, but it survived 5F with no protection other than a flipped over garbage bin (no lights or frost cloth like all my other palms get). Its also in full shade so the sun doesnt warm it up much in the winter. Thanks wetsuiter! Not sure what I plan to do with the sabal minor seeds. I have at least 40 of them, so maybe I will give a few out and then I'll try a few myself and whatever is left I'll plant in my yard and see what happens. Im not sure If I will throw them in a forest or not, but if they prove to be great growers and I get some more seeds next year, then I definitely will give that a try (maybe not in a forest, but in a friend's yard). Thanks Jacklord! I wish I lived in Miami, that would be a great place for tropical plants! I live about 20-30 miles south of Manhattan so its much more suburban than a place like Queens. Thanks Greg! I know, I had a ton of pics, but usually there are even more than this! I have definitely expanded my collection a lot this past year! My pindo grew about 3 fronds (the newly planted one, the one in the ground for 3 years grew only 1/2 a frond this summer!). I think thats pretty good for the first year and Im hoping for even better growth next summer. I cant wait till Im walking underneath a canopy of palm fronds! The ginger isn't edible, well actually I think it is edible to a certain extent, but its not grown to be eaten. The flowers are extremely fragrant (probably one of the most fragrant flowers you can grow) and thats the main reason why people plant them. I never really thought much of them until I went to Hawaii and saw them planted by the 100s! I got my butterfly ginger as small bulbs from Hawaii (they grew VERY fast since they are only a little over a year old) and the spiral ginger I got from a trade (a nice sized bulb that is probably gigantic right now). Thanks kelly! Its getting more and more jungle like every year! Not sure where I will be putting the plants soon! Thanks for looking everyone! I'll post some bloom pics when some more of the plants go into bloom (like the gingers and sky glory vine). -Alex

Thanks Panamajack! I live in NYC! Thanks Jim! I think we got our Saba's at about the same time and at the same size, but mine sounds like its a little smaller than yours (the soil here isnt as good as in the mid west and root space might have been a problem too). But its still grown a ton. The "trunk" on mine is about 4.5 feet and the tallest leaf is about 7 feet tall. I cant wait to see it this time next year! At this rate it will be probably 13 feet tall by next year! Thanks Protempsfish. The spindle is already barely fitting into the house. I have it in a room with a 10 foot ceiling and the top fronds are touching that. But I have another room with about a 20 foot celing. The lighting isnt perfect in there, but at least its high enough to keep the spindle palm doing well for several more years. Its a fast grower though! Thanks for looking everyone! -Alex

OMG, Ellie! Sending up prayers for your besieged cousin! Elly's bout with uterine cancer, last September, was the absolute scariest thing she & I have ever been through! Whenever I actually thought about it, while Elly was away up north in Springfield for eight days (with her mother, sister and brother, while I remained here with our autistic son), to have her uterus removed, etc., I would personally become physically ill. - God bless and comfort you all!