Informations About Palm Trees

By Author: greenpalmco
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Palms are evergreen, mostly tropical plant in the family Palmae (also known as Arecaceae). There are over 2500 species of palms. Most Palm are tree-like, with single trunks and either fan shaped (palmate) or feather shaped (pinnate) compound leaves. The larger palm tree makes a dramatic statements 8-10 landscapes, and a smaller palms are grown in containers everywhere.
Worldwide, the family Palmae (Palm Tree) is composed of over 230 genera and about 3000 species. Only a few of these are indigenous to the continental United States, and most of these are restricted to the warmer regions of southern United States, southern Florida and southern California. However, a large number of exotic species have been imported for ornamental purposes and a few of these have become widely naturalized.
Evolution - A cross-section of a palm branch Arecaceae is the first modern family of monocots that is clearly represented in the fossil record. Palms first appear in the fossil record around 80 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period. The first modern species, such as Nypa fruticans and Acrocomia aculeata, appeared ...
... 69-70 million years ago, confirmed by fossil Nypa pollen dated to 70 million years ago. Palms appear to have undergone an early period of adaptive radiation. By 60 million years ago, many of the modern, specialized genera of palms appeared and became widespread and common, much more widespread than their range today. Because palms separated from the monocots earlier than other families, they developed more intrafamilial specialization and diversity. By tracing back these diverse characteristics of palms to the basic structures of monocots, palms may be valuable in studying monocot evolution.[12] Evidence can also be found in samples of petrified palmwood.
Palms, for identification purposes. can be divided into two major groups: those that have palmate or fan-shaped leaves; and those that have pinnate, or feather-shaped leaves. The palmate-leaved species are characterized by a leaf structure in which all leaf segments arise from a single point, similar to the structure of a human hand. Pinnate leaves are characterized by leaves along each side of a central axis, similar in design to that of a feath