Flowering Monocots – Palms
Flowering plants are called angiosperms, which first appeared roughly 140 million years ago in the early Cretaceous period and are today the dominant plants on earth. Angiosperms, unlike the gymnosperms, enclose their seeds within fruits.
Palms belong to one of the major angiosperm groups called the monocots, named for the characteristic of the seedlings having a single seed leaf. The monocots also include orchids, lilies, and grasses. Palms are the only monocots that take an arboreal, or tree-like form, although they mostly grow in height, very little in width, resulting in the tall narrow trunk that we associate with the palms. The entire trunk is composed of sapwood; palms lack the inner heart wood characteristic of many hardwood trees. The fruits of most south Florida palms are rounded drupes held in clusters, the major exception being the large three-sided husks of the Coconut Palm.
When attempting to identify a palm, it helps to initially note whether the tree has
A) Palmate leaves:
Paurotis Palm
Silver Palm
Key Thatch Palm
Sabal Palm
Florida Thatch Palm
Washingtonia Palm
Saw Palmetto
B) Pinnate leaves:
Coconut Palm
Date Palm
Royal Palm
Queen Palm
Manila Palm
The only palms which will not fall into one of the categories above are the Fishtail Palms.