User:Toby

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Tobias W. Spanner became seriously interested in palm trees in 1987. He made his first palm expedition, to China, in 1991, and has since traveled all over the world to destinations such as India, China, Burma, Pakistan, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil and Vietnam in search of rare and little-known palms. Although Toby says his foremost goal on these trips is to see as many palms in their natural habitats as he can, these expeditions also sometimes allow him to gather specimens for study as well as collect seeds for cultivation. His most important expedition, taken with Martin Gibbons to Sudan in 1995, led to the rediscovery of Medemia argun — a palm believed to be extinct. The pair have also scientifically described four new species of Trachycarpus and rediscovered several others.

               Toby has been a member of the International Palm Society since the late 1980’s. In 2002, Toby was elected to the IPS’s board of directors and from 2008 to 2012 served as Vice President. Toby has also been a member of the European Palm Society since its formation and served as editor of the EPS’s journal Chamaerops for several years. Toby is the author of Das Palmen Kulturhandbuch (1992), a handbook for growing palms, and co-author of the 320 page Winterharte Palmen (2007), focusing on his specialization, cold-hardy palms. Additionally, Toby has published numerous articles in Principes (now Palms), The Palm Journal, Chamaerops and in various German gardening magazines. His work has been featured on television and radio gardening programs and in over 30 magazines in Germany.
               Toby is from Munich, Germany, where he lives with his wife, Dr. Lauri Coulombe and son Alexander, and runs a well-known palm seed business, a mail-order plant nursery, and a small publishing company.