WONDERS OF PALMS
10 SURPRISING FACTS
ABOUT PALM TREES
The quintessential image
of a tropical paradise, the palm tree is much more significant than you might
think. At the sight of a palm tree, most people imagine a sunny beach
setting — but these
sturdy plants can also grow in a variety of other environments. Here are 10
things you may not have known about these tropical beauties:
1. There are over 2,500
species of palm trees.
The Arecaceae family of
plants includes wonderfully diverse species found throughout the world, from
the desert to the rainforest.
2.
Not all palm trees are 'trees,' and not all plants called palms
are truly palms.
These evergreen plants
can grow in the form of shrubs, trees or long, woody vines called lianas. Plants
like the yucca palm, Torbay palm (pictured), sago palm and traveler's palm are
not part of the Arecaceae family.
3. Palm trees have two
different types of leaves: palmate and pinnat
Palmate leaves, like
hands, grow in a bunch at the end of a stem. Pinnate leaves are like feathers,
growing all along either side of a stem.
4.
Palm trees are important religious symbols.
In the Bible, the people
of Jerusalem greeted a triumphant Jesus just one week before his death and
resurrection, a tradition now known and celebrated as Palm Sunday the week
before Easter. Palms are mentioned dozens of times in both the Bible and the
Quran. In Judaism, palms represent peace and plenty.
5. Lots of staples come
from palm trees.
Coconuts are an obvious product of palm
trees, but did you know that dates, betel nuts and acai fruit all come from
palm trees as well? Palm oil, as its name indicates, also comes
from the fruit of the oil palm tree.
6.
Palms grow best in USDA
Zones 8-10.
You don't have to live
in Florida or California to use large palm trees in your landscaping.
7.
The tallest palm tree can grow up to 197 feet tall!
The Quindio wax palm
(seen above), Colombia's national tree, is the tallest-growing species of palm.
8. The coco de mer palm
tree has the largest seeds of any plant on Earth.
The
seeds can be as large as 20 inches in diameter and as heavy as 66 pounds!
9. Palm trees have a
history with humans as old as the first societies.
Archeological finds have
shown that the date palm was commonly used in Mesopotamian society, for food
and other purposes. Romans gave palm branches as a symbol of triumph to the
triumphant champions of games and wars.

10.
Have you ever heard of palm wine?
Also called
"kallu," palm wine is a common alcoholic spirit in regions of Asia
and Africa. It can be created from coconut palms, date palms, the Chilean wine
palm and other species.
Though many
species of palms are sturdy and plentiful, as many as 100 species are
endangered due to deforestation and unsustainable
cultivation practices, such as for the heart of palm, which comes from a part
of the tree that cannot be regrown. The rarest palm tree is the Hyophorbe
amaricaulis. The only one left currently lives at the Botanic Gardens of
Curepipe in Mauritius (pictured).
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