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WHAT IS A PALM? Palms are woody monocotyledons in the family Arecacceae (alternative name Palmae) which is placed in the order Arecales. They are a natural group of plants with a characteristic appearance that enables most people to recognize them without great difficulty. Palms are an ancient life form with fossil records from the late Cretaceous period. Being composed largely of durable materials, palms leave a relatively good fossil record and may have existed before this time. Palms are regarded as being ‘Princes’ among plants and indeed were labeled such (as ‘Principes’) by none other than the great Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, the founder of the modern binomial system of plant nomenclature. He recognized palms as a distinct group of plants and described several species. Today, Principe’s is the name of the quarterly journal of the International Palm Society which was established in Florida in 1956. In literature published, the estimated number of species of palms varies from 2,500 to 3,500. A more accurate modern estimation is probably about 2,600 species. Variations in the tallies basically arise because of disagreement between botanists of species and genera. More species await discovery and description as new areas are explored. Whatever the number of species, palms are a highly significant and extremely diverse group and rank fourth or fifth in size in the monocotyledons. Palms are widely regarded as being second only to the grasses in economic importance and whole communities in the tropics and subtropics may depend on palms for their livelihood. Not only are they important but their great beauty and ornamental potential means that they are widely grown in tropical and subtropical gardens. As pot plants, they form a significant part of the horticultural trade in foliage plants, in temperate and tropical gardens. Anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of palms should join a Palm Society. They are non profit organizations formed to study palms and foster interest in their culture and conservation and disseminate knowledge about them. The International Palm Society is based in the USA and produces a quarterly journal:
The Palm Society |
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