Oddly enough, but not all people can answer the question of what grows on a palm tree correctly. Some believe that they can grow not only dates and coconuts, but also bananas and pineapples, which is quite incredible.

Types of palm plants

Palm is a southern woody plant that grows exclusively in tropical and subtropical climate zones. The Palm family belongs to flowering plants and has about 185 genera and 3400 species. There are especially many of these plants in the zones of Southeast Asia and in the tropical countries of South America.

In colder regions, palm representatives can be seen in the Mediterranean and North Africa, Crete, Japan and China, northern Australia, etc.

Palm trees can be found in completely different places, from the sea coast to the slopes of the highlands, near swamps and forests, as well as in hot desert oases. However, most of all they prefer humid and shady areas with a tropical climate, forming continuous thickets. Palm trees are also widespread in the African savannas, where they easily tolerate drought and hot winds.

Forms and structural features of palm trees

Palm trees are distinguished by a wide variety of growth forms:

  • tree-like: Cuban, royal, corypha umbrella-bearing; washingtonia thread-bearing; barrigona, Theban hyphena (dum-palm);
  • shrub-like: lanceolate chamedorea, acelorafa;
  • stemless: shrub palmetto, Wallich herring, creeping serenoa;
  • climbing vines: calamus.

The original structural features of palm trees are that the plant does not have the usual botanical elements, such as a trunk and branches:

  • Its "trunk" is formed from the remains of obsolete leaves, which harden and form a column; it can only grow upwards, but not in width, and this process is quite long (1 m grows in 10 years);
  • the roots at the base form a bulb, from which small roots extend;
  • nutritious juices circulate only in the center of the "trunk", due to which palm trees are considered refractory;
  • due to the ability to re-sprout leaves from its own trunk, this plant is called the "phoenix tree".

Among palm trees there are mono- and dioecious plants, in the second option there are male plants that pollinate females, respectively, fruits are only on the latter. In nature, pollination occurs with the help of wind, and in cultural plantings, people do it manually. Fruit ripening lasts about 200 days.

palm tree fruits

The palm tree is one of the most useful plants for humans, because many of its varieties produce very tasty and even medicinal fruits: dates, coconuts, etc. They are used to make flour, oil, alcoholic beverages, and fibers are also produced on an industrial scale, from which bags and bags are made. other fabric products.

The most useful fruits for humans that grow on a palm tree are dates and coconuts.

A date is a cylindrical berry with a thin peel, its average weight is 7 g, of which 2 g falls on the bone. The sugar content in it reaches 70%, calorie content - 30 kcal / piece. 10 dates per day provide the daily requirement of the human body for magnesium, sulfur, copper, iron and a quarter of calcium.

Many tasty and healthy components are extracted from coconut:

  • juice or water - a clear liquid, the endosperm of a coconut, contained inside the fruit, as it ripens, it mixes with oil and hardens;
  • coconut milk - obtained after squeezing grated copra, it is white and quite fatty, after adding sugar it is very tasty;
  • oil - extracted from coconut copra, is a valuable product due to the high content of fatty acids, used in cosmetics and treatment.

Coconut palm

It is not for nothing that this plant is called the “tree of life” in the tropics, because the locals use almost all of its parts for food and the manufacture of various products, leaves and wood are used in construction.

However, for unlucky people, this palm tree can become a “tree of death”, because according to statistics, 150 people die every year from hitting such nuts on the head. The weight of an average coconut is about 1-3 kg, so even if it falls on the roof of a car, it leaves a dent, and it is deadly for the head.

Coconut palm fruits grow in groups of 15-20 pieces. and mature in 8-10 months. Fruiting in trees lasts up to 50 years, during this period each palm tree brings 60-120 nuts annually.

Outside, the coconut is covered with a hard shell, inside there is pulp and liquid, which becomes sweet as the fruit ripens. You can clean it with a knife or machete.

Date palm

Date palms have been cultivated in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) since the 4th century BC. e. The tree bears fruit for 60-80 years, and can live up to 150.

There are legends about the benefits and calorie content of date palm fruits. So, the Arabs believe that every warrior can live in the desert for 3 days, eating 1 date, eating first the pulp, then the skin, on the 3rd day - the crushed bone. Regular consumption of these fruits in food reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, slows down the aging process.

One of the resorts of Elche in Spain is famous for its park of date palms (since 2000 the park has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List), of which about 300 thousand are planted here, and dates are harvested regularly.

roystone palm

royal palm ( Roystonea) - has a chic look corresponding to the name, standing out from its surroundings and landscape. The height of the tree can reach 40 m, the trunk is smooth gray, at its top is a crown of huge feathery leaves up to 8 m long, 2 m wide. The plant is monoecious: male and female flowers are located on the same tree below the crown.

Roystone has 17 species, distributed in the southern states of the United States, in Central and South America, in the West Indies. The most popular species is the Cuban palm ( Roystonea regia) and the royal vegetable palm, from which the edible juicy apical buds are harvested, called "palm cabbage".

Roystones are planted as a decorative ornament along the boulevards and avenues in the cities of the tropical region, along the edge of the beaches, they are often used for decoration in landscape design.

Everything that grows on the Roystone palm is successfully used by man: the trunks are used in construction, the leaves and fibers are used to make roofing and wickerwork, the fruits are eaten with pleasure by livestock, and palm oil is produced from seeds.

Bismarckia noble

Rod Bismarck ( Bismarckia nobilis) includes the only species that is also called the Bismarck palm, named after the 1st chancellor of Germany. This drought-resistant tree is distinguished by its original appearance and color, and is widespread on the island of Madagascar.

The petioles grow from a single grey-yellow-brown trunk, which has ringed indentations (45 to 80 cm in diameter at the base). In nature, palm trees grow up to 12-25 m tall. Beautiful silver-blue rounded leaves reach 3 m, dividing into segments at the ends. Petioles are 2-3 m long, protected by spikes and covered with white wax.

The plant is dioecious, flowers grow on dark purple stems, fruits are brown ovoid up to 48 cm in length, inside there is a drupe with one seed. Bismarckia leaves are used to make roofing and wickerwork, and sago with a bitter aftertaste is prepared from the core.

Such a palm tree can be successfully grown at home, it looks spectacular in the interior and is unpretentious in care.

Decorative and indoor palm trees

For lovers of exotic plants, palm trees are great, because growing them at home does not present any difficulties in caring for them. In the countries of the European region and Russia, decorative palm trees take root best in winter gardens and greenhouses, where they can create a suitable microclimate, because the plant is still southern and thermophilic.

The plant propagates by seeds, which can be found in specialized flower shops. The most common species that can be grown in apartments and houses:

  • Date palm, often grown from seed, at home it can grow up to 2 m, forming a lush crown over a shaggy trunk.
  • Dracaena has been used for several 10 years in landscaping houses and apartments, propagated by seeds and cuttings, the leaves have a light or dark green color, less often striped, and can form several trunks.
  • Areca - has a flexible trunk, decorated with meter-long feathery leaves.
  • Trachycarpus is a decorative species of palm trees with an original bottle-shaped trunk and fan leaves, blooms with white and yellow flowers with a pleasant smell, blue-black fruits.
  • Hovea Foster is a popular species, easy to care for, little susceptible to attack by pests and diseases, leaves are dark green, etc.

Palm tree care in an apartment

The most important rule when growing an ornamental palm tree at home is to create high humidity and proper lighting. With dry air in the apartment due to winter heating, the plants must be sprayed frequently and watered with distilled or filtered water: in the summer months - 2-3 times a week, in the winter - daily.

Every year, a young palm tree needs to be replanted, picking up a more spacious pot, older trees less often. Plants and their roots are afraid of drafts, so tubs are not recommended to be placed on a windowsill or floor. Many types of palm trees cannot stand direct sunlight, preferring bright and diffused lighting.

However, at home, all plants only bloom, and the rare fruit that sets never ripens. Thus, it will not be possible to find out what grows on a palm tree, but an exotic green beauty in a tub in the middle of the house will create a cozy tropical corner and a positive emotional atmosphere.

The order of the palm (Arecales) (N. N. Imkhanitskaya)

Arecaceae family, or palms (Aveceae, or palmae)

Palms - one of the largest families of flowering plants - has about 210 genera and 2780 species (G. Moore, 1973), and according to some sources - up to 240 genera and about 3400 species. Palm trees are widespread mainly in tropical and subtropical countries throughout the globe, but are especially richly represented in Southeast Asia and tropical South America; only a few species occur in extratropical areas (Map 13). Farthest to the north (almost to 44 ° N. w.) comes hamerops squat(Chamaerops humilis), common in the Mediterranean from Southern Portugal to Malta, and also in North Africa. Grows on the island of Crete Theophrastus date palm(Phoenix theophrasti). Found in arid regions of Afghanistan nanorops Ritchie, or Mazar palm (Nannorrhops ritchiana), whose range extends further into Pakistan, Southeast Iran and South Arabia. Trachycarpus Fortune(Trachycarpus fortunei) reaches 35°N. sh. in Korea and Japan. This one of the most cold hardy palm trees is known to be cultivated in Scotland. Another species of the genus trachycarpus takilsky(T. takil) grows in the Western Himalayas at an altitude of almost 2400 m above sea level, where snow covers the ground from November to April. Genus liviston(Livistona) enters southern Japan and Eastern Australia (up to 37° S). The northernmost of the American palms, growing in the southeastern United States - small sabal(Sabal minor) - found in the state of North Carolina, and on the Pacific coast in the desert oases of Southern California and Western Arizona grows washingtonia filiferous(Washingtonia filifera). The boundary of the distribution of the family in the southern hemisphere passes through the Juan Fernandez Islands - Robinson Crusoe Island ( southern juania- Juania australis) and coastal regions of Central Chile, Southeast Africa, as well as New Zealand and Chatham Island.

Palm trees are characteristic components of many tropical ecosystems. They are found in a variety of habitats, from seashores and mangroves to high mountain slopes, from marshes and wetlands to savannahs and hot desert oases, in lowland and montane rainforests, and even in deciduous forests of warm temperate regions. However, it is in the tropical climate that palm trees find the most favorable conditions for their growth. Most palm trees prefer moist and shady habitats - along rivers and streams, at groundwater outlets, in lowlands periodically flooded after heavy rains or flooded tides, in swamps, where they often form extensive, almost pure thickets. Most palm trees grow in humid and hot lowlands, and in the mountains usually at low or medium altitudes - however, some climb high into the mountains. Among the latter belongs the genus Ceroxylon, or wax palm(Ceroxylon), which is found in the Andes of South America in the fog belt. So, Ceroxylon Kindyosky(C. quindiuense) found in Colombia at an altitude of almost 3000 m, and useful ceroxylon(C. utile) rises to a height of 4100 m above sea level on the Chiles volcano, meeting near the border of eternal snow. Some palm trees, for example coconut palm(Cocos nucifera) or species trinaxa(Thrinax) and pseudophoenix(Pseudophoenix) in the Caribbean region, are permanent inhabitants of the sea coasts. They are resistant to hurricane winds, salty sea spray, sea water flooding, at least for a short period of time. Palms often grow in marshy riparian forests and swamps, along the inner edge of mangroves, in estuaries, and on low, tidal river banks.

Kinds washingtonia(Washingtonia) date palm(Phoenix dactylifera) and some other palms are excellent indicators of soil moisture in arid, extremely dry areas, as they are found only in those places where there is a source of water - a spring, stream or shallow aquifer. The date palm grows magnificently in the oases of the Sahara and the Libyan desert, in Algeria, Arabia and southern Iran. Intense heat, extreme dryness of the air, lack of precipitation, and even sultry winds common in deserts are ideal conditions for the cultivation of the date palm. At the same time, it is not a xerophyte, since it is confined exclusively to oases. An Arabic proverb says: "The queen of the oasis bathes her feet in water, and her beautiful head in the fire of the sun." Date palm is able to tolerate relatively low temperatures. It grows in areas where the absolute minimum temperature is almost annually - 9 ... -10 ° C, and in some years in some oases of the Sahara even -12 ... -14 ° C. The date palm feels almost equally good on the loose sands of the Sahara and the Arabian Desert, and on the extremely heavy clays of the Iraqi interfluve, and on the stony soils of Southern Iran. Particularly striking is its endurance to soil salinity. It sometimes grows on salt marshes, where the soil is completely covered with white salt efflorescence in summer.

Palm trees are the main components of palm savannahs in tropical Africa (for example, palm deleb, or borassus ethiopian- Borassus aethiopum and species hyphae- Hyphaene) and in tropical America (species sabal- Sabal, copernicia- Copernicia, etc.) "The scorching heat and winds dry out the soil so much that only a few plants are able to survive. Palm trees, on the other hand, endure both prolonged flooding and a long dry season without visible damage. Palm trees that live in savannahs, as well as in dry pine forests (For example, creeping serenoa- Serenoa repens), surprisingly resistant to fire due to the absence of cambium. Persistent leaf bases at the bottom of the stem carnauba(Copernicia prunifera) form a layer that protects plants from fire damage and can also function as a water storage tissue. In a number of palms, such as borassus, the seedling burrows into the ground due to the strong elongation of the cotyledon.

Palm trees have a characteristic appearance that allows them to be almost unmistakably distinguished from all other plants. They usually have a well developed, straight, unbranched, woody stem with a crown of large fan or pinnate leaves at the top. There are several forms of palm growth. While maintaining the unity of the building plan, the appearance of palm trees is unusually diverse. Their stems can be inclined or climbing, creeping and underground or prostrate on the surface of the earth. Along with the most common tree-like forms, there are creepers, as well as shrub-like and so-called "stemless" palms, in which the aerial stem is greatly shortened or completely absent and only leaves rise above the ground (Fig. 231). However, most palm trees are tree-like plants with a tall, slender columnar trunk (more precisely, a stem-like lignified stem), like Washingtonia or coryphes(Corypha), striking with their majestic appearance and exceptional correctness of proportions. Their height can reach 60 m, like that of the Ceroxylon Quindo wax palm, and their diameter is almost 1 m, like that of the Chilean wine palm(Jubaea chilensis), which is also called elephant due to its size (Table 57, 4). Other low-growing palms with thin stems similar to bamboo or reeds and elongated internodes resemble miniature trees or shrubs. Dwarf palm trees are no more than half a meter high and pencil-thick (some types of Reinhardtia are Reinhardtia from tropical America), and the tiny palm iguanura (Iguannra palmnncnla) from the island of Kalimantan and dwarf siagrus (Syagrus lilliputiana) - a true treasure of the Paraguayan flora - do not exceed 10 in height see, resembling more grass; they make a striking contrast with the majestic "princes of the plant world", as Carl Linnaeus called the palms.

Unusual for palm trees, the Egyptian doom palm, or hyphena thefivia(Hyphaene thebaica) and some other species of the Indo-African genus Hyphena: their stems usually branch dichotomously, giving the plants a characteristic appearance (Table 54, 4, Fig. 231). The dichotomy is also known in other members of the family, for example, in the South African yubeopsis kaffir(Jnbaeopsis caffra), Mazar palms and bushy nipas, or mangrove palm(Nypa fruticans). In the palm family, the dichotomy is obviously secondary. Branching of creeping shoots not associated with a dichotomy, usually in the American palm serenoa(Serenoa). Separate cases of branching in chrysalidocarpus yellowish(Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) and some other palms are probably associated with damage to the apical bud. In a number of large palm trees, the trunks are bottle-shaped or barrel-shaped swollen. An example is the endemics of the Mascarene Islands. hyophorba bottle(Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, pl. 56, 2), hyophorba bitterstem(N. amaricanlis) and famous barrigona(Colpothrinax wrightii), growing in the sandy savannas of Western Cuba and the Isle of Youth (Table 53, 1). Its trunk in the middle part is barrel-shaped expanded, and when looking at it, a comparison involuntarily suggests itself with an anaconda that has swallowed its prey. The African deleb palm may have two or even three successive extensions of the trunk in the middle part. The reasons for the occurrence of such extensions of the trunk and their biological significance are not yet completely clear. Stem wine pseudophoenix(Psendophoenix vinifera) from the island of Haiti has the shape of a bottle, the long neck of which develops with the beginning of flowering. Sabal has localized narrowing of the stems in years that are unfavorable for palm growth, as a result of which its trunk resembles an hourglass. They have a peculiar appearance iriartea swollen(Iriartea ventricosa), socratea naked root(Socratea exorrhiza, fig. 242) and some other palms are inhabitants of swamps, flooded lowlands and mountain forests of the fog belt of tropical America. The stems of these plants are equipped with stilted roots up to 2.5 m high, dotted with prickly thorns - modified lateral roots. In the early stages of development, the internodes of the stems of these palms elongate rapidly, forming an unstable reverse-conical axis, which is supported by stilted roots. They are formed from the lower internodes of the stem and provide support to the plant. After the base of the stem dies, the palm rests on these roots, like on stilts. Many palms have the form of shrub growth due to the formation of numerous stems from axillary buds at the base of the stem or on underground lateral shoots - stolons or rhizomes. In the first case, a compact bundle of stems appears, in the latter, the stems appear at some distance from the plant, forming thickets (Fig. 231).


Rice. 231. Growth forms of palms. Tree-like: 1 - Cuban royal palm (Roystonea regia); 2 - umbrella-bearing corypha (Corypha umbraculifera); 3 - thread-bearing Washingtonia (Washingtonia filifera); 4 - barrigona (Colpothrinax wrightii); 5 - Thebian hyphena, or doom-palm (Hyphaene thebaica. Shrubby; 6 - lanceolate chamedorea (Chamaedorea lanceolata); 7 - yellowish chrysalidocarpus (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens); 8 - Wright's acelorafa (Acoelorraphe wrightii). "Stemless": 9 - shrub palmetto (Sabal elonia); 10 - Salacca Wallichiana (Salacca wallichiana); 11 - Creeping Seenoa (Serenoa repens) Climbing vines: 12 - Calamus (Calamus sp.)

Species of the American genus Sabal, ropalostilis delicious(Rhopalostylis sapida), endemic to New Zealand, and some palms from the coconut subfamily have an underground stem that initially grows obliquely down into the ground (to a depth of 1-1.5 m at rope-bearing attalea- Attalea funifera), and then, suddenly changing direction, bends upward (taking the form of a saxophone), rises to the surface of the earth and forms an above-ground stem in tree-like forms, as in sabal palmetto(Sabal palmetto), sometimes greatly shortened, like a small sabal (Fig. 233), sometimes strongly curved and even twisted into a spiral, often S-shaped, from below with roots similar to ropes. When fires destroy the vegetation during dry seasons, the underground stems of attalea and some other palms remain intact and soon give new leaves. American oil palm(Elaeis oleifera) the old part of the trunk lies down, it is spread out on the surface of the earth and is covered along the entire length with adventitious roots; the younger ascending part raises the crown of large feathery leaves to a height of up to 2 m. Since the oldest part of the stem dies and rots, the palm tree almost imperceptibly moves away from the place where it was planted - "walks", say the locals.

Among the palms there are climbing vines that reach the tops of the trees in the tropical rainforest (Table 56, 1). Their thin flexible stems with very long (sometimes up to 2 m) internodes and spaced pinnate leaves often reach a length of more than 100 m, and in some species of calamus - up to 150-180 m. They climb with the help of modified leaves or sometimes inflorescences, firmly fastening, like an anchor, to the surrounding trees or shrubs, hanging between them with scallops. Climbing palms are found in all tropical areas. This form of growth arose independently in different groups of palms - in the New and Old Worlds. Rattan, or climbing, palm trees of the Old World, the most important of which are two large genera - calamus and demonorops(Daemonorops), are found in the rainforests of Asia, Australasia and Africa, but are especially diverse in the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Calamus species are the largest and most specialized creepers, forming dense, impenetrable thickets.

The vast majority of climbing vines are multi-stemmed plants, climbing stems usually arise from underground rhizomes, only plectocomy(Plectocomia) has single stems. In calamus, the seedling forms a rosette of leaves, from which several climbing stems rise.

Palm stems are smooth, with ring scars from fallen leaves, like the Cuban royal palm(Roystonea regia), or covered with a layer of remnants of leaf sheaths and petioles, sometimes prickly, like American palms acrocomia(Acrocomia) and bactrys(Batris). thin stems astrocarium vulgaris(Astrocarynm vulgare) - an inhabitant of dry forests in the Amazon and Rio Negro, like other species of this genus, are armed with whorls of long sharp spikes. Straight or curved thorns on stems of Mexican cryosophila dwarf(Cryosophila papa), which protect the plant from being eaten by animals, are nothing more than modified adventitious roots with pointed hard root caps. Ordinary roots sometimes form at the bottom of the stem. Root thorns also cover the trunks of Amazonian palms. Maurycia prickly(Manritia acnleata) and Mauritia armed(M. armata). The extended base of the stem, characteristic of many palms, serves as a solid foundation for a tall and powerful "column". Numerous rope-like adventitious roots depart from it. The primary root dies off early and is replaced by adventitious roots that appear on the lower internodes of the stems throughout the life of the palm. These roots are devoid of root spikelets; sometimes palms have mycorrhiza ( coconut tree, peach tree- Bactris gasipaes - and others). Palm stems, always lignified and perennial, are composed of a cortical layer and numerous vascular bundles and fibers scattered in the main parenchyma. The fibers are tough, dark brown or black, often contain silica, and are very hard. The vascular bundles are more crowded towards the periphery of the stem, forming a much denser tissue than in the central part. This distribution of supporting tissues provides maximum strength and stability to the trunk, although palms, due to the lack of cambium, do not form true wood, like our ordinary dicotyledonous and coniferous trees. The design of the palm tree meets the best examples of engineering and construction art. The palm stem achieves considerable thickness as a result of primary growth occurring directly below the apical meristem, located in the center of a small cup-shaped or saucer-shaped depression at the top of the stem. The apical bud of the palm (figuratively referred to as "palm cabbage" or "palm heart") - a creamy, juicy, curly mass of young leaves - resembles cabbage in appearance. It is deeply hidden in the crown and is protected from forest herbivores by leaf bases, usually thick, rough, with a sharp edge or with thorns. The stems of palm trees sometimes thicken (as, for example, in the royal palm) due to the division by stretching of the cells of the main parenchyma and the fibers that surround the vascular bundles. This growth is called diffuse secondary growth or sometimes "continuous primary growth" (J. T. Watahouse and C. J. Quinn, 1978).

Palm leaves are alternate, usually clearly divided into petiole and blade. The lower part of the petiole is expanded into the sheath, partially or completely covering the stem. Petioles are usually long, but may be very short or even absent. Palm leaf blades are exceptionally diverse in size, shape and dissection. Their size ranges from a few centimeters (12.5 cm for the Guatemalan Turkheim's chamedorea- Chamaedorea tuerckheimii) to the largest in the plant world: in royal raffia (Raphia regalis), their total length with petiole is over 25 m. The famous "shade palm tree" - corypha umbellifera, or taliposh palm(Corypha umbraculifera), - has fan leaves up to 7-8 m long (petiole 2-3 m) and 5-6 m in diameter. Its leaf is so large that it can cover 15-20 people from rain. The leaf blade of palm trees is complex, folded, fan-shaped or pinnate, karyotes(Caryota) - twice pinnate; less commonly, the plate is entire, not dissected into segments, digito-nervous or peritoneural, and often bilobed at the apex (Fig. 232). Whole American Palm Leaves manicaria saccular(Manicaria saccifera), 9-10 m long and 1.5-2 m wide, serrated along the edge, broken incorrectly by the action of the wind, like a banana. In fan leaves, the rachis (rod) is greatly shortened. The plates are usually dissected into linear or lanceolate segments at various depths, sometimes almost to the base. Leaves of some species of the Malesian genus likuala(Licuala) palmate, dissected to the very base into narrow wedge-shaped segments with a blunt serrated apex, each consisting of several folds. In the so-called comb-fan palms (for example, in species of the genus sabal), the rachis is continued into a plate and stretches for some distance, sometimes almost to the very top, forming the median ridge of the leaf and bending its plate. It gives large leaves greater strength. Such leaves make up the transition from typical fan-shaped to pinnate. Many fan and ridge-fan palms have a triangular outgrowth similar to a tongue at the top of the petiole at the junction with the plate, - gastula(lat. hastula - short end, dart, fig. 232). It is usually present on the upper side of the record, rarely on both sides. Sometimes the gastula reaches a considerable size.

The presence of a median ridge, or a powerful midrib, is a characteristic feature of the palm leaf. Fan-leaf segments and feathers of pinnate leaves - with a prominent midrib or with several veins and have numerous and thinner veins, usually parallel to the midrib, but sometimes radiating from the base or from the midrib and ending along the edge or at the serrated top of the feathers.

Palm trees are divided into two large groups depending on the nature of the attachment of segments and feathers to the rachis (Fig. 232). In some palms, the segments and feathers in cross section are V-shaped (having the shape of a gutter), i.e., induplicated, or folded upwards with a noticeable vein below at the point of attachment to the rachis; the plate ends with an unpaired apical segment or feather. In other palms, the segments and feathers in cross section are D-shaped (having the shape of a roof), that is, reduplicate, or folded down with a noticeable vein at the top; the plate ends in a pair of segments or feathers with a thread sometimes located between them, representing the end of the rachis. Both the pinnate and fan leaves are set as whole, and all parts of the leaf develop from the original whole tissue. Palm leaves are leathery and tough. They are covered with a thick layer of cuticle, often with a waxy coating, which in some palms reaches a considerable thickness. Many palms have a covering of tiny scales or hairs that may fade with age. The leaf blade is mostly smooth, but some spiny palms have thorns on the rachis and feathers. There is also great diversity in the structure of the base of the palm leaf. Many palms have long closed tubular sheaths. They are often not expressed in the adult state, although in the early stages of development they form closed tubes that surround the stem.

Since palms do not have a specialized integumentary tissue similar to the bark of dicotyledonous plants, leaf remnants remaining in many palms may serve a protective function. In Washingtonia species, the trunk is covered with a "skirt" of old, dry leaves, which persists in natural conditions for many years, forming a strong column in old plants up to 2.5 m thick (Fig. 231).

Numerous palm flowers are usually collected in large, highly branched lateral inflorescences. In most cases, these are panicles with spike-shaped, catkin-shaped or fleshy thickened and cob-shaped branches. Inflorescences, like the stems and leaves of palm trees, often reach considerable sizes. The giant apical inflorescence of the "shade palm tree" - corypha umbellata - is one of the largest in the plant world, reaches a length of 6-9 m. Female flowers large-fruited wicker(Phytelephas macrocarpa), mangrove palm, oil palm form heads. Less commonly, inflorescences are unbranched, spike-shaped (as in species likuals- Licnala or geonomies - Geonoma). The vast majority of palm trees have axillary inflorescences; they develop among the leaves in the crown, as in the coconut palm or sabal species, or below the crown, as in the royal palm, opening only after the leaf has fallen. An unusual location of the inflorescence in calamus species and related genera: in them, the inflorescence adheres to the sheath of the overlying leaf.

Most palms are polycarpic; they form lateral inflorescences in ascending sequence over many years of life. But in relatively few palms, inflorescences appear at the top of the stem only once in a lifetime after a long period of vegetative growth, and after fruiting the plant dies. Such plants are called monocarpics. Only 16 genera of monocarpic palms are known, and all of them (with the exception of raffia flare- Raphia taedigera) are limited to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World. Curiously, the generally monocarpic genus metroxylon(Metroxylon) includes one polycarpic species metroxylon tonga(M. amicarum), a demonorops succulent(Daemonorops calicarra) is the only monocarpic representative of the largest genus of rattan palms. Perhaps the most striking example of a monocarpic palm is the umbrella-bearing corypha, which grows in South India and on the island of Sri Lanka (Table 53, 3, 4). This majestic palm bears a crown of large fan leaves. In the 40-70th year of life, the palm tree blooms, forming a giant apical paniculate inflorescence of many thousands of white flowers; the branches of this huge "bouquet" reach a length of 3-5 m. Over many years of growth, nutrients in the form of starch accumulate in huge quantities in the central part of the trunk, which are necessary for the only reproductive explosion in the life of a palm tree. On the island of Sri Lanka, many copies of this palm tree bloom at the same time.

A similar group flowering is also observed in the giant Malayan mountain rattan. Griffith's plectotomy(Plectocomia griffithii).

The peduncle of palms bears a basal two-keeled preleaf (profile) and usually one to several covering leaves, which contain a young inflorescence and split or break longitudinally during flowering. They are called sterile covering leaves because they are not associated with flower axes, in contrast to the fertile ones, covering the branches of the inflorescence at the base and terminal axes bearing flowers. Covering leaves are tubular or navicular, leathery, membranous, fibrous or sometimes even woody, smooth or woolly, sometimes prickly. They fall off when the inflorescence opens or remain on the peduncle (sometimes long after fruit formation). Their number varies in different groups of palms.

Palm flowers are small and inconspicuous (rare exceptions are large, 7-10 cm long, female flowers of phytelefas and Seychellois palms (Lodoicea maldivica, or L. sechellarum). They are usually sessile, sometimes even immersed in the fleshy axis of the inflorescence, rarely on short pedicels. The flowers are sometimes bisexual, but much more often unisexual, in the latter case male and female flowers are similar or markedly dimorphic, as in borassus and geonoma.Plants are usually monoecious, less often dioecious (for example, date palm, species of phytelefas and chamedorea).In monoecious palms, male and female flowers are located in the same inflorescence, but are usually placed in different parts of the axis like a coconut palm, or are collected in separate male and female inflorescences, sometimes in male and bisexual.Palm flowers are actinomorphic, less often slightly zygomorphic. circles, or rarely spiral, or uniserial and irregularly lobed, or rudimentary, and sometimes completely absent (in male flowers of phytelefathus). Perianth free or fused, membranous, white, yellow, orange or red. The sepals and petals of the least specialized palms are similar, but more often the sepals are smaller than the petals. Sepals usually 3, rarely 2 or 3-7 or more (in female flowers of phytelefathus); they are free and tiled or fused. Petals usually in the same number as the sepals, free or fused, usually folded in male flowers (rarely fused with free lobes) and imbricate in female and bisexual flowers, sometimes with short folded tops or rarely folded. Stamens usually 6, arranged in 2 circles, rarely 3 ( wallichia tristamens- Wallichia triandra, mangrove palm, areca- Areca triandra) or much more than 6, but their number is usually a multiple of 3. In some specialized palms, for example, palanders(Palandra), from 120 to 950 - the largest number of stamens known from palm trees; they develop centrifugally. Polyandry (many stamens) in different groups of palms arose independently. Stamen filaments are straight or bent at the top in the bud, free or variously fused with each other or adherent to the petals, or simultaneously fused and accreted. Anthers attached at base or dorsum, rarely double or with divided pollen sockets, straight or rarely twisted; they open with longitudinal slits. Pollen grains are most often single-furrowed, similar to lily pollen, less often with a 3-ray furrow, with 2 distal furrows or 1-3-pore. The pollen of the nipa, ring-furrowed and prickly, differs from the pollen of all other palms. In the female flowers of palm trees, there are often staminodes - in the form of teeth, awl-shaped or equipped with rudimentary anthers, free or sometimes fused into a cupula or tube with a lobed or serrated top and sometimes adhering to the petals. The gynoecium in the most primitive palms is apocarpous, of 1-3 (usually 3) carpels, but in most genera it is syncarpous, usually of 3 partially or fully fused carpels, sometimes of 3-7 or 7-10; sometimes the gynoecium is pseudomonomeric with 2 reduced and 1 fertile nest and 1 ovule (as in areca- Aresa and many related genera). Most palms have septal nectaries located on the septa of the ovary. In some palms, they are small and, by their position in the basal part of the ovary, are considered less specialized in this family (for example, in sabal, livistons- Livistona or Corypha). In pseudophoenix, the septal nectary, located at the base of the carpels, opens outwards in pores opposite to each petal. Other palms have nectaries with long channels that open with pores on the upper surface of the gynoecium (in arengi- Arenga, patching- Latania) or between the carpels at the base of the stigmas (at booties- Butia, MacArthur's ptychosperms - Ptychosperma macarthurii). Trachycarpus has a rudimentary nectar spot on the sides of three free carpels facing the center of the flower. At chamerops squat(Chamaerops humilis) there is a rudimentary nectary on the upper surface of the bowl formed by the fused, expanded and thickened bases of the stamen filaments in the male flower. The columns are free or fused, long or short, and thickened or inconspicuous. The stigmas are straight or recurved, sometimes elongated, rarely indistinguishable, in the form of a gap on the carpel or two-crested. In each carpel or in each nest of the ovary, there is usually 1 ovule (rarely with 1 or 2 additional ovules - in the nipa). When the fruit ripens, 2 out of 3 carpels are often underdeveloped. The ovules are anatropic, hemitropic, campylotropic or orthotropic. The rudimentary gynoecium is sometimes absent in the male flowers.

Palm carpels display many of the characteristics of primitive flowering plant carpels. They are often foliate, may be pedunculated, and are usually conduplicated, often with open ventral sutures and laminar or sublaminal placentation. In Fortune's trachycarpus, trichomes develop along and to some extent within the open ventral suture, as in some primitive dicots. Stigmas sessile or almost sessile. The genus nipa differs from other palms in its peculiar asymmetrical cup-shaped carpel with a funnel-shaped stigma opening, the wide inner surface of which unfolds and folds back during flowering. The combination of bisexual flowers and apocarpia is found only in primitive genera belonging to the subfamily Coryphae. Apocarpy is also characteristic of the date palm and nipa. Along with the archaic structural features of the gynoecium inherent in some palms, other representatives can also observe many signs of high specialization.

Palm trees are cross-pollinated plants with various adaptations that prevent self-pollination. The most reliable of these is dioeciousness, which is known from relatively few palm trees. In monoecious palms, male and female flowers ripen at different times in the inflorescence, as a result of which the plant is either in the male or female phase of flowering. These phases are sharply separated in time and, as a rule, do not overlap. The exceptions are palms, in which several inflorescences develop in the axil of the leaf (as in arenga) and male and female flowers can be opened simultaneously at different nodes of the stem, as well as bushy palms, in which asynchronous opening of flowers on different stems is possible. Dichogamy is manifested in palms in the form of both protandry and sometimes protogyny. Protandria is well expressed in many palms (for example, coconut and sago). The male flowers, which bloom first in the protandrous inflorescence, are ephemeral. They usually open at dawn and fall off after a few hours. The female flowers remain receptive for several days. In triads, the male flowers open sequentially, one after the other (rarely, two male flowers open at the same time), and only after they fall off, often after several days or even weeks, the female flowers open. The blooming of flowers arranged in vertical rows proceeds in a basipetal sequence: the top flower falls off before the next blooms. A similar way of blooming flowers in palm trees provides the plant with pollen for a longer period of time. Protogyny is much rarer and is known, for example, in nipa, sabal palmetto, and some palms pollinated by beetles.

Most palm trees appear to be pollinated by insects. Although the flowers of palm trees are small and, despite the sometimes brightly colored perianths, usually inconspicuous, they are collected in large inflorescences that stand out clearly against the background of dark green foliage. Flowers of many palm trees, for example fragrant chamedorea(Chamaedorea fragrans) from the Peruvian Andes, very fragrant. Sometimes palm pollen (as in acrocomia- Acrocomia) has a characteristic smell or is brightly colored (like a nipa). Bees, flies, hoverflies, fruit flies, beetles, thrips, moths, ants and other insects visit flowers for nectar, pollen, succulent flower tissue, or use the flower as a breeding ground, oviposition, and larval development. In palm flowers, as a rule, a variety of insects are found, although not all of them are effective pollinators. Some palm trees are pollinated by beetles that feed on pollen and flower tissue. Various types of beetles carry out pollination, especially often - weevils(Curculionidae). Palms pollinated by beetles, as a rule, are protogynous and produce a large amount of pollen, while their flowers are devoid of nectar. Weevils pollinate the flowers of two Bactris species in Costa Rica ( bactris large- Bactris major and bactris guinea- V. guineensis), prickly palms from the coconut subfamily. Like nipa, they are protogynous, and flowering begins with the opening of the female flowers in the afternoon, which remain receptive for 12 hours. The male flowers open 24 hours later than the female ones and emit a musky smell, attracting beetles that eat their large thick petals. When male flowers open and lose pollen, beetles laden with this pollen move to newly opened inflorescences with receptive female flowers, pollinating them. They also feed on the abundant pollen of male flowers. sequins(Nitidulidae), bees, and flower tissues - fruit flies. About 10% of visitors to Bactris flowers are predatory rove beetles. The pollination mechanism of bactris is very effective. Female flowers do not need to develop any special adaptations to attract pollinators, and therefore they can concentrate energy on their main function - the formation of fruits and seeds.

Pollination mechanism hydriastela small cob(Hydriastele microspadix) from New Guinea is remarkably similar to the one just described. Hydriastela flowers are pollinated by weevils, which are found almost exclusively in palm flowers and are pantropical in distribution (a remarkable example of the coupled evolution of palms and insects). Weevils pollinate flowers rapidophyllum hedgehog(Rhapidophyllum hystrix), a low shrub-like palm, which is called the porcupine because of the numerous long (15-20 cm) sharp black needles on the leaf sheaths. This palm tree grows in damp places and swamps of the US coastal plain from South Florida to the Carolinas. Short, tightly compressed inflorescences with 5-7 covering leaves are literally buried in a mass of needles and dark brown sheaths and never stand out even when the fruit ripens. Male and, to a lesser extent, female flowers emit a musky odor. There is evidence of pollination by beetles of the flowers of a number of other palms. Beetles found in closed male inflorescences ammandra(Ammandra), and the release of heat from phytelefath flowers, a phenomenon often associated with pollination by beetles, suggests cantharophilia in this genus. Milky white flowers johannesteysmaniya high-leaved(Johannesteijsmannia altifrons) on the pale yellow velvety branches of the inflorescence, partially hidden in humus and plant debris accumulating at the base of the leaves of this "stemless" palm, attract numerous insects with their smell of sour milk and sewage. In the flowers there are many beetles (adults and larvae), rove beetles, as well as fly larvae, thrips, ants, termites, and beetles. At ceratolobus(Ceratolobus) - one of the most remarkable dioecious rattan genera in the humid regions of Malesia - the inflorescence is enclosed within a single bract which is opened by two tiny lateral slits at the apex. Numerous insects penetrate through them, attracted by the musty smell of flowers. In the inflorescences of ceratolobus bluish (C. glaucescens) - an endangered species, the only small population of which is found in West Java - beetles, thrips and ants are abundant. The latter quickly populate the inflorescences and the whole plant. They are attracted to nectar. In species with hanging inflorescences, pollen accumulates in abundance near openings through which insects enter the inflorescence or climb out. The flowers of the ceratolobus are shielded from larger arthropod visitors who cannot enter through the shallow cracks. A "pollinator filter" is also found in the American Manicaria pouch-bearing palm, the inflorescence of which is enclosed within a sac-like cover leaf with tiny holes between the fibers (Fig. 243).

However, there are many wind-pollinated plants among palm trees. The date palm is a classic example. Under natural conditions, in the population of this dioecious plant, about half of the male specimens. A single covering leaf covers the entire inflorescence. Male and female flowers bloom immediately after the release of the inflorescence from the covering leaf. The female flowers are apparently receptive for 1 or 2 days. In culture, to obtain a sustainable harvest, the date palm is artificially pollinated by tying the cut branches of the male inflorescence to the top of the female. One male specimen is enough to pollinate 100 females. Artificial pollination was first introduced by the ancient Assyrians and has been practiced for at least 3 or 4 millennia. This technique has survived to this day almost unchanged. Date palm pollen, which is produced in large quantities, remains viable for one season or even 1-2 years. The fact that palm pollen retains its viability for a relatively long period of time has been established for another dioecious wind-pollinated palm - squat chamerops. In 1767, Josef Kölreuter, whose name is associated with the study of the field in plants, sent chamerops pollen, taken from a male specimen in the botanical garden in Karlsruhe, simultaneously to Berlin and St. Petersburg. The gardener Ekleben pollinated an old specimen of this palm tree, delivered under Peter I and located in the greenhouse at the Summer Palace. Although the journey took several weeks, the pollen did not lose its ability to germinate, and the plant set abundant fruit.

Perianth reduction in trinaxa(Thrinax), a primitive genus with bisexual flowers with apocarpous hymbecium, is undoubtedly associated with wind pollination (Fig. 235). Covering leaves are relatively thin, and the inflorescence opens quickly. Especially remarkable is the rapid elongation of the branches of the inflorescence, which grow in length by 15-20 cm in 10 hours before the anthers open. The flowers are protandrous. At thrinax small-flowered(T. parviflora) anthers open early in the morning, and abundant dry powdery pollen covers the branches of the inflorescence. During the male phase of flowering, the lips of the two-lipped stigma of the single-carpeted gynoecium are tightly pressed together, which reduces the possibility of self-pollination. The stigmas move apart 24 hours after opening the anthers. The funnel canal of the carpel is open distally. Thrinax was found to have pollen grains on the ovule in the nest, which is unusual for flowering plants. The open channel of the style obviously represents a direct entry for wind-blown pollen. Self-pollination is frequent and successful, as indicated by abundant fruit set on isolated specimens.

Until now, there is no consensus among botanists regarding the pollination of the coconut palm, one of the most studied palms. This plant is apparently pollinated by both insects and wind. Small male flowers open first around 6 o'clock in the morning and fall off at noon. The female flowers are receptive for a few days. The female phase of flowering lasts 4-7 days. In addition, the flowers of the coconut palm are also visited by birds - sunbirds and parrots that feed on pollen. In the dwarf variety of this palm on the Malay Peninsula, male and female flowers open, as a rule, simultaneously, and self-pollination prevails here. At butia smooth cover(Butia leiospatha) - an inhabitant of the cerrados of Brazil, like the coconut palm, wind pollination is combined with pollination by insects. Its flowers are visited by wasps, flies, and weevils and spurges breed in inflorescences. They use closed inflorescences and young fruits as a place for oviposition.

Some palms are also known to self-pollinate. bisexual flowers coryphes high(Corypha elata) are self-compatible. Abundant fruit set with fertile seeds as a result of self-pollination is quite common in isolated cultivated specimens, which is of particular importance in connection with the monocarpy of this species. At the rattan demonorops Kunstler(Daemonorops kunstleri), most of the fruits and seeds are apparently formed parthenogenetically.

The fruits of palm trees are extremely diverse. Their size ranges from a few millimeters to half a meter in the Seychelles palm, the fruits of which are among the largest in the plant world. In nipa, phytelefas and oil palm, the fruits are collected in large compact heads. Fruits are usually 1-seed, but sometimes 2, 3-10-seed. They are a dry or fleshy syncarp drupe with endocarp adhering to the seed or free, less often berry-like fruits (dates are an example). At the base, the fruits are often surrounded by a growing and hardening perianth. The vast majority of palm trees have indehiscent fruits. Only in a few species, when ripe, do they split at the top ( microcelum- Microcoelum, lithocarium- Lytocaryum, Socrates Salazar- Socratea salazarii), and in species astrocarium(Astrocaryum) open completely, revealing sometimes brightly colored flesh.

The fruit mesocarp is juicy, sometimes with abundant needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals, often oily, juicy, fibrous, or dry. The endocarp containing the seed is thin, cartilaginous or membranous, sometimes with a cap over the embryo (as in clinostigma- Clinostigma), or thick, horn-shaped or bony, then often with 3 or rarely more germinal pores (as in the coconut palm and other related genera). The number of pores corresponds to the number of carpels, and their location (in the middle, below or above the middle of the endocarp) corresponds to the position of the micropyle of the ovules. In a one-seeded fruit, only one of the pores functions, opposite the ovule of the fertile carpel. The endocarp is sometimes provided with longitudinal ribs, while in the Seychelles palm it is deeply 2-, sometimes 3-, 4- and even 6-lobed. Palm seeds are very diverse in size and shape. Their size ranges from just a few millimeters to the largest sizes in the plant world - 30 or 45 cm in the Seychellois palm. The seed coat is thin, smooth or fleshy (as in salakki- Salacca), free or fused with the endocarp. The endosperm is abundant, homogeneous or ruminated, in immature seeds it is often liquid or jelly-like, then becomes very hard, and in some species of palms is a source of vegetable "ivory" (large-fruited phytelefas, hyphena swollen- Hyphaene ventricosa, etc.). The endosperm contains a large amount of oil and protein. The embryo is small, cylindrical or conical. Several species of palms have polyembryony.

Palm seeds do not have a dormant period, the embryo grows continuously. Seed germination can begin while the fruit is still attached to the plant. The embryo does not stop growing even during seed dispersal. In Malay villages one can often see the sprout of coconuts suspended from hut poles. The embryo receives water and nutrients from the endosperm. The roots of the seedling, growing in a fibrous mesocarp, are able to absorb rainwater seeping through the peel. However, the succulent pericarp (for example, in Livistona) inhibits the germination of the seed or prevents it. During storage, the seeds, as a rule, quickly lose their germination. They should be sown shortly after harvest. The exception is pseudophoenix, whose "long-lived" seeds germinate after two years of storage. This ability to germinate after a long dry period is probably essential for survival in the dry conditions of sands and porous limestone in the Caribbean. Palm seeds germinate underground, with the exception of nipa, in which the seeds germinate on plants or in floating fruits. The cotyledon is never revealed as a green photosynthetic organ, since its tip remains immersed in the endosperm of the seed and is modified into a sucking organ - haustoria. It dissolves and absorbs the nutrients of the endosperm to ensure the growth of the embryo until the young plant produces leaves. In many palm trees, the cotyledon, when emerging from the seed, elongates in the form of a cotyledon tube and buries the seedling into the ground to a certain depth, which may be of adaptive importance for palm trees growing in savannahs. The deepening of the cotyledon into the soil in different species of palms occurs to an unequal depth, which is largely determined by the habitat conditions. Deepening into the soil, the lower part of the cotyledon grows in the form of a tubular sheath at some distance from the fruit.

In palm trees, three types of seed germination are known (Fig. 233). In species with a noticeable elongation of the cotyledon, the seedling is removed from the seed and haustoria. In the date palm, trachycarpus, corypha, the lower part of the cotyledon grows underground in the form of a long tubular sheath, and a shoot emerges from the cotyledon gap formed in its upper part. At the sabal, washingtonia, yubei(Jubaea) the cotyledon in the lower part is expanded in the form of a much shorter tubular sheath, which forms a tongue in the upper part. In the archontophoenix, the coconut palm, and some other palms, the cotyledon elongates only enough to carry the embryo out of the endocarp. The lower part of the cotyledon, immediately after leaving the seed, grows outward in the form of a bell, forming a tongue. An embryo begins to germinate from the base of the cotyledon, parts of which are closely adjacent to the haustorium.

The fruits of many palms, juicy and brightly colored, are distributed by animals. Their main distributors are birds, although a wide variety of animals - from rodents to monkeys - also feed on palm fruits and distribute seeds. Large birds swallow fruits whole, throwing out undamaged seeds near palms or more often carrying them to a certain distance. Some birds, in particular pigeons, obviously played a large role in the spread of a number of palms. So, thanks to them, and also, obviously, ocean currents prichardia(Pritchardia) entered the Hawaiian Islands. The birds apparently carried the seeds Haitian royal palm(Roystonea hispaniolana) to the island of Little Inagua (Bahamas), where palm trees have been recently discovered growing at the bottom of several large sinkholes. The list of palm trees, the fruits of which birds feed on, is quite large. In Java, carnivorous mammals feed on the fruits of cariota - jackals, Malayan palm marten and civet. Palm civets, wild pigs eat fruits sugar palm(Arenga pinnata), a black-handed and pygmy gibbons eat mature fruits in Indonesia arengi obtuse(A. obtusifolia). The fruits of rattan palms - calamus and demonorops - also serve as food for gibbons. Baboons feed on the fruits of the Egyptian doom palm. In ancient Egypt, Thoth - the god of wisdom, the patron of sciences - was revered in the form of an ibis or baboon, and since baboons often eat the fruits of the doom palm, it became the sacred tree of Thoth. Images of baboons on palm trees are found on the paintings that covered the walls of ancient tombs. Monkeys are attracted to date fruits Robelin palms(Phoenix roebelenii) in Laos, American sack palms and maximilian maripa(Maximiliana maripa) and the African oil palm.

In the distribution of the fruits of some palm trees, bats play an important role, which, like birds, can spread seeds over long distances. Large (15-20 cm in diameter) drupes of the delib palm, or Ethiopian borassus, are the favorite food of the African elephant. It is to him that the palm tree owes its distribution throughout tropical Africa. The elephant eats the fruits, and the endocarps with the seeds enclosed in them are thrown out intact along with the excrement. However, the presence of the genus in Madagascar, New Guinea, and possibly even in Australia, where there are no elephants, according to Harold Moore (1973), excludes the assumption of the conjugated evolution of elephants and borassus, as well as a close small genus borassodendron(Borassodenclron). The African elephant also feeds on the smaller fruits of the swollen hyphena, which grows in the hot, dry valleys of southern Zambia, and the wild African date palm (Phoenix reclinata). The fruits of palm trees that have fallen to the ground are eaten by tapirs, deer, fallow deer, peccaries, goats, and cattle. Coyotes and gray foxes feed on the fruits of Washingtonia filiformis. Squirrels and numerous rodents (pacas, mice, rats) also take part in the distribution of fruits and seeds. They often drag fruits into nests or put them somewhere in stock, while part of the seeds are lost along the way or remain unused for some reason. In Brazil, rodents bury fruit rope-bearing attalea(Attalea funifera) and Orbinia Barbosa(Orbignya barbosiana) into underground burrows, where their germination is stimulated by high temperatures due to the annual savanna fires. Aromatic fruit pulp and seeds with juicy skin edible herring(Salacca edulis), a nearly stemless, very thorny palm in the Malay Archipelago, attracts not only rodents and birds, but also monitor lizards and turtles. Fruit astrocarium vulgaris(Astrocaryum vulgare) serve as food for fish, fish also eat fruits Schott geonomies(Geonoma schottiana) in South America.

Despite the abundant fruiting of palm trees, their fruits and seeds are often predated by beetles and other insects, wood mice and rats, pigs and crabs. There is a close biological relationship between the coconut palm and the giant crab called the palm thief (Birgus latro). It feeds on the pulp of immature coconuts: tearing the fibers, punches a hole in the area of ​​the "soft" eye with powerful claws, pulls out the pulp, sometimes breaking the endocarp with blows against stones. The crab not only destroys fruits that have fallen to the ground, but, as you know, even climbs onto a palm tree, knocking down coconuts. The crab lives on the tropical islands of the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans - in the area where the coconut palm is distributed. A chemical study of its fat has shown that it resembles coconut oil, having little in common with animal fat. This crab also feeds on small juicy fruits of another palm tree - arengi lister(Arenga listeri), endemic to Christmas Island.

Sea currents, rivers and streams, torrents play a large role in the distribution of seeds and fruits of a number of palm trees. Water contributes to the spread of species that inhabit the banks of rivers, such as Mauritia tortuous(Mauritia flexuosa), and many other palms found in abundance on the banks of the "palm" Amazon River, the Orinoco and their tributaries, as well as the inhabitants of swamps and wet forests (like raffia and metroxylon). The fruits and seeds of a number of palm trees are picked up by floods. The floating fruits of the coconut palm, nipa, pritchardia, sabal palmetto and others carry sea currents. Sometimes the fruits become buoyant only when dried, as in pseudophoenix sargent(Pseudophoenix sargentii), or when the seeds are destroyed. The fruits of manicaria bag-bearing have high buoyancy. Falling, they burrow into detritus or are carried by rivers far into the sea, but they do not withstand a long stay in salt water and soon collapse. Fruits with rotten or dry seeds can be carried by currents. They are found in large numbers on the beaches of the West Indies, on the Terke Islands (the southeastern tip of the Bahamas) and even on the west coast of Scotland. Of the seeds that have reached the Terke Islands, no more than 1-2% retain the ability to germinate.

Man played an important role in the spread of many palms, especially such vital palms as coconut, oil, date, sugar, etc.

The classification of palms is based mainly on the structure of the gynoecium and fruit, the type of inflorescence, the nature of the arrangement of flowers on the axes of the inflorescence, and the number of covering leaves. Most modern authors accept the division of palms into 9 subfamilies: coryphae(Coruplioideae), phoenix(Phoenicoideae), borass(Borassoideae), karyotes(Caryotoideae), nip(Nypoideae) lepidocaraceae(Lepidocaryoideae), arecaceae(Arecoideae), coconut(Cocosoideae) and phytelophantate(Phytelephantoideae). With the exception of the largest and most heterogeneous subfamily of the Arecaceae, which will obviously be further divided, they are all natural, well-defined groups of palms. The American palmologist Harold Moore (1973) divided the family into 15 large groups (without indicating their taxonomic rank), representing 5 lines of evolution in the palm family; 8 of these groups fully correspond to the accepted subfamilies; the remaining 7 groups collectively make up the Arecaceae subfamily, with most of them coinciding (partially or completely) with individual tribes, and the arecoid palm group embraces many tribes in palm classification systems. These large divisions of palms often correspond to those distinguished by P. Tomlinson (1961) on the basis of comparative anatomy.

Most of the fan palms belong to the subfamily Coryphoides (Coryphoideae, pl. 52, 53, fig. 235). It includes 32 genera and about 330 species distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres. Coryphae form the northern boundary of the range of the palm family; in the southern hemisphere they move south as far as Córdoba in Argentina ( tririnax plains- Trithrinax campestris) and Southeast Australia ( liviston south- Livistona australis). In Africa, in addition to Chamerops, only the monotypic genus Wissmania is known, closely related to Liviston, with a limited distribution in Northeast Africa and South Arabia. Corypha are often found in areas of strong seasonal contrasts, in savannahs and on dry limestone substrates, but also in swamps and rainforest, especially in the eastern tropics. They differ from other groups of palms in the combination of fan or comb-shaped induplicat leaves and bisexual or less often unisexual, but rather similar in structure, flowers that usually form strongly branched paniculate inflorescences with several or many covering leaves. The most primitive palms belong to the subfamily Corypha. At the same time, all the main lines of specialization in the palm family can be traced within this group: from complex to very simple inflorescences, from bisexual to unisexual, from 2-row to 1-row and reduced perianth, from 3-membered to 2- or 4- flower articulation, from 6 to many stamens, from apocarp to partial or complete spincarp or to a single-carp gynoecium, from insect pollination to wind pollination.

Among the representatives of the subfamily are many well-known palms cultivated as ornamental plants in parks and gardens, in greenhouses and residential buildings in subtropical and warm temperate countries, such as chamerops and trachycarpus, sabal, livistona and washingtonia, rapis and likuala.

South American genera Tritrinax (with 5 species) and heliocarpus(Chelyocarpus, with 3 species, fig. 235) are relatively the most primitive genera in the palm family; their bisexual flowers approach the least specialized type of bisexual flowers with an apocarpous gynoecium. Several genera of dioecious or polygamous dioecious palms also belong to primitive palms. Among them are chamerops (1-2 species, tab. 52.2, fig. 235) and trachycarpus (6-8 species, East Asia and the Himalayas, tab. 52.7), an Asian genus rapis(Bhapis), the most famous type of which is a graceful bamboo palm(Bhapis excelsa) - a favorite potted houseplant with racing reed-like stems forming loose groups, and palmate leaves, deeply dissected into segments, serrated at the top, as well as a porcupine palm - rapidophyllum hedgehog - the only slowly dying out relict species of the American genus, introduced in the US Red Book.

The most important member of the subfamily is the genus liviston(Livistona). It has about 30 species growing in tropical and subtropical Asia north to South China, the Goto archipelago and the islands of Okinoshima and Kyushu, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Northern and Eastern Australia. Livistona species belong to the most beautiful palm trees. They can be up to 30 m high and 30-50 cm in diameter and form the upper canopy in the Malesian rainforests. However, sometimes their height reaches only 1.5 m, the diameter of the stem is only 2.5 cm (poor liviston - L. exigua on the island of Kalimantan). The stem is covered with fibrous remains of the sheaths, the petioles in the lower half or along the entire length are seated with sharp spines bent downwards, sometimes almost smooth. Large fan leaves are variously dissected, sometimes to the base, into segments. The greatest diversity of the genus in Australia (over 10 species).

Likuala(Licuala) - the largest genus of the subfamily, unites over 100 species of low-growing palms that live in the undergrowth of tropical rainforests from Asia to Australia and the New Hebrides. Types of likuala are distinguished by a peculiar form of leaf blades. At likuali big(L. grandis, the island of New Britain) they are solid and almost rounded, only at the very top they are divided into segments. Likuala pygmy(L. pumila) from Sumatra and Kalimantan not more than 1.5 m high forms short spike-shaped inflorescences and red, orange or purple fruits. prickly likuala(L. spinosa) is common in the coastal marshes and wetlands of Southeast Asia.

A wonderful representative of coryphoid palms - the genus washingtonia(Washingtonia, named after the first US President George Washington) has only 2 types of massive, majestic palm trees. In rocky riverbeds, near streams or water sources, in the oases of the Colorado desert, stretching in a narrow strip along the foothills of the San Bernardino in Southeastern California and deep canyons in the Cofa Mountains in Western Arizona, grows washingtonia filiferous(W. filifera); in the desert regions of Baja California and Sonora (Mexico) - another species of this genus - washingtonia powerful(W. robusta). Most of the groves or isolated groups of palms have their own names (for example, "29 Palms", "12 Apostles"). The most famous and frequently visited are the groves near Palm Springs in Palm Canyon. Washingtonia thread-bearing has a columnar grayish-brown "trunk" up to 20-25 m high and large grayish-green fan leaves on long petioles with spiky teeth along the edge; the plate is dissected into 60 or more drooping segments with numerous hanging threads, which is reflected in the species name. Washingtonia powerful - taller and thinner palm with a more compact crown. Both species are cultivated in many countries of the world, including the USSR.

Among the most important representatives of the Coryphae subfamily in the New World are the genera copernicia(Copernicia, 30 species) and coccotrinax(Coccothrinax, more than 30 species). Most of their species are concentrated in Cuba. These are characteristic components of palm savannahs, as well as thickets of small-leaved thorny shrubs on serpentinite uplands. Several types of copernicia (3) are known in South America. Brazilian wax palm, or carnauba(Copernicia prunifera) is the source of valuable carnauba hard plant wax that coats palm leaves on both sides. Another type of copernicia that forms wax is pencil(C. alba) is found in the semi-arid regions of Paraguay, Eastern Bolivia, Northern Argentina and Southwestern Brazil. Genus sabal(Sabal, 20-25 species) distributed in the south and southeast of the United States, in Mexico and Central America, in the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles, in Colombia and Venezuela. These palms can be found on damp, sandy and saline soils along the banks of rivers and reservoirs, in savannahs and swamps, on sea coasts. Sabal palmetto (Fig. 235) is called the cabbage palm because of the edible buds that are eaten. The wood of this palm tree serves as a durable and non-rotting building material for underwater structures.

Genus coryphe(Coryplia) - the most important representative of the subfamily - consists of 8 species of large monocarpic palms of tropical Asia and Northern Australia. corypha umbellata(C. iimbraculifera) is chosen as the national emblem of Sri Lanka. This palm gives a picturesque view to the Sinhalese rural landscape. Coryphe leaves are used to cover the roof, making fans, umbrellas and wickerwork. They were used as writing material; ancient manuscripts of sacred Buddhist books were written on strips of leaf segments with metal pens and have been preserved for many centuries. These strips were held together with planks of hardwood, decorated and finished with lacquer. The most widespread type coryphe high(C. elata) is native to India, the Andaman Islands, and the drier parts of Malesia. The plant serves as a source of starch, palm wine, alcohol.

Very close to Coryphae, but more specialized subfamily phoenix(Phoenicoideae) with the only genus phoenix, or date palm(Phoenix, pl. 54, fig. 236). Phoenix is ​​easily distinguished from other palms by its induplicat feathery leaves, the lower feathers of which are turned into sharp thorns. Phoenix species are dioecious palms. Male and female flowers differ in appearance. Young inflorescences are surrounded by a preleaf, which soon falls off. The peduncle is elongated and flattened, carries ears of corn at the top, usually collected in bunches. Small flowers solitary, arranged spirally on the branches of the inflorescence. Flowers with 3 fused sepals and 3 petals. Stamens 6 (rarely 3 or 9). Gynoecium apocarpous, with 3 carpels. Berry-shaped fruit (date) contains a single linear-oblong hard seed, deeply grooved on the ventral side. A number of anatomical features connect the date palm more closely with the fan palms of the subfamily Corypha than with the rest of the pinnate palms. The genus Phoenix includes about 17 species distributed in tropical and subtropical Africa, Arabia, India and on the island of Sri Lanka to Malaysia and Sumatra, as well as in the Canary Islands ( Canarian date palm- R. canariefisis, pl. 54.2, fig. 236), the island of Crete, Madagascar and the Comoros ( date palm rejected- P. reclinata). Phoenix - low or almost "stemless" palms or large tree-like plants with single columnar "trunks" or forming shoots. They grow in arid areas, occurring near rivers, underground water sources, in oases, swamps, sometimes on the banks of estuaries, forming dense thickets in the inner zone of mangroves ( mangrove date palm- P. paludosa).

Actually date palm(P. dactylifera, Fig. 236) - the oldest cultivated plant of arid subtropical regions of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, southern Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the right bank of the Indus River. It has not been found in the wild. In the Elche region in Southeast Spain, a huge number of date palms grow in parks and gardens, on the streets, among the ruins of old buildings. The date palm was brought here by the Phoenicians over 2000 years ago. Date palm culture has been known since at least the 4th millennium BC. e. in Sumer and Assyria, states. Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. On the ruins of ancient temples, on coins and seals, ancient Assarian bas-reliefs, images of a date palm are often found. Dates are preserved in large numbers in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. Dates are a staple food for millions of people across a vast area of ​​North Africa and Southwest Asia, and are a delicacy in the countries to which they are exported. They combine great taste with high nutritional value (62-71% sugar, proteins, fats, vitamins). The most delicious "soft" dates, large, fleshy, translucent, are mainly exported. The most valued by the Arabs are "dry", or "bread" dates, the flesh of which dries and candied on the tree, like the Central Asian apricot; they serve for everyday nutrition. Arabs manage to cook dozens of various dishes from dates, bake bread from them, and make drinks from the juice of fresh fruits. The crushed seeds are fed to camels. Palm wine and sugar are made from the sugary juice obtained by cutting trunks. Wood is used to build houses. In many areas, palm stalks and leaf stalks serve as the only fuel. The leaves are used as roofing material, baskets, hats, and mats are woven from them. Thanks to the date palm, oasis agriculture has become possible, and other fruit trees are grown in its shade. Egyptians, Arabs, Persians from ancient times honor the date palm, calling it the "blessed tree", the "queen of the desert". The main areas of date palm culture are confined to the hottest places on the globe. Egypt, Iraq and Iran are the leading dates producing countries. Industrial date palm plantations exist in the desert regions of Southern California and Southern Arizona. In our country, the date palm has been bred since 1939 in Turkmenistan (Kizyl-Atrek), where it bears fruit and withstands frosts down to -14 °C.

forest date palm, or wild date palm(P. sylvestris, Fig. 236), is used and cultivated in India as a sugar plant. This tall palm tree with a thin single stem and a crown of leaves 3-5 m long grows in arid regions along the banks of rivers and monsoon streams, along channels with subsoil moisture. Palm sugar is obtained from its sweet juice (up to 40 kg per season). Many species of the genus Phoenix are grown as ornamental plants. The most common in subtropical gardens and parks (including the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus) is the Canarian date palm, whose trunk is 12-15 (20) m high and bears a crown of 150-200 large outstretched leaves.

Subfamily borassic(Borassoideae) - a small but natural group - includes 7 genera and about 55 species of large dioecious palms growing in arid areas, in savannahs and less often in rain forests of the Old World from Africa to New Guinea and possibly Northeast Australia. This subfamily is better represented than others on the African continent. Fan or ridge-fan blades of large leaves are dissected into induplicate segments with parallel veins. The petioles of the leaves are split at the base (Table 55). Inflorescences simple, spike-shaped or slightly branched, with thick catkin-shaped branches; an elongated peduncle bears several covering leaves. The flowers are markedly dimorphic. Male flowers with a tubular calyx and imbricate petals on an elongated receptacle, usually prostrate when flowering; female - larger, with sepals or sepals fused at the base and imbricate petals. The gynoecium is syncarpous, with a 3-celled ovary and 3 ovules. The fruit is a 1-3 seeded drupe. The seed is whole, sinuous and furrowed or 2-lobed. Endosperm homogeneous or rarely ruminated. Despite significant differences, palms from the subfamily Borassaceae have a strong resemblance to coryphoid palms, which suggests their origin from a common "trunk". At the same time, a number of features (dimorphic flowers, syncarpous gynoecium) indicate a much greater evolutionary advancement of the Borassaceae subfamily.

The largest genus of the subfamily is hyphena(Hyphaene) - has about 30 species of palms, the stems of some of them are dichotomously branched or swollen. Most species grow in the savannas or semi-deserts of tropical and subtropical Africa. Several species are known from Madagascar, the mountains of South Arabia, Western Asia, the western coast of India and Sri Lanka. From time immemorial, the dum-palm, the Theban hyphena (Table 54) was cultivated in ancient Egypt because of its edible and medicinal fruits, which were found in large quantities in the tombs of the pharaohs in Thebes. The doom palm tree grows in Northeast Africa on sandy soils in the river valleys from the mountains of Sudan, where the Nile originates, meeting in its valley in Upper and Middle Egypt. It is absent, however, on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Red Seas, where other species of this genus with a branching stem are known. Hyphena dichotomous(N. dichotoma), often mistaken for the Egyptian doom palm, is found in abundance on the west coast of India. Hyphena swollen(N. ventricosa) in the hot, dry valleys of southern Zambia has a stalk extended in the upper half and is very similar to the deleb palm. The hard endosperm of mature seeds of this palm tree is a source of vegetable "ivory", from which buttons, beads, brooches are made.

Monotypic genus close to hyphena iceemia(Medemia), the only species of which medemiya argun(M. argun) is found in the oases of the Nubian Desert in Sudan and Egypt. The small brownish-purple fruits of this palm are found in Egyptian tombs as often as dates or fruits of the doom palm. And although medemia was well known to the ancient Egyptians, it was discovered on the territory of modern Egypt quite recently, in 1963-1964. in two points of the Nubian desert, 200 km from Aswan.

The most widespread genus of the subfamily is borassus(Borassus) - includes 7 species of large palms found from West Africa to New Guinea and possibly Northeast Australia. Palmyra (V. flabellifer) is the most important economic plant, cultivated since ancient times in India and on the island of Sri Lanka (Table 55). This palm tree 18-20 m high (sometimes up to 30 m) with a dense crown of bluish-green leaves provides people with almost everything they need. Palmyra is the main source of toddy, a drink popular in tropical Asia. During the year, 300-400 liters of juice are obtained from each palm tree by draining inflorescences, from which wine, sugar, alcohol, and vinegar are prepared. Fruits, soft immature seeds, seedlings are eaten. Leaves are an excellent roofing material; they are also used for weaving all kinds of products. The oldest manuscripts on strips of palmyra leaves have survived to this day. The fiber extracted from the bases of the leaves and the pericarp is used to make brushes, ropes, and coarse clothing. Wood is a durable building material that is resistant to sea water.

seychelles palm(Lodoicea maldivica, also known as L. sechellarum, tab. 52, fig. 237) - the only species of the genus lodoycea (Lodoicea) - can compete in popularity with the Lebanese cedar or California sequoia. Her homeland is the Seychelles. This relic species is found on the slopes of hills and in valleys on two ancient granite islands - Praslin and Curieuse. The places where the Seychelles palm grows are declared nature reserves. The bulb-shaped base of a Seychellois palm stem sits in a bowl about 80 cm in diameter and up to 0.5 m deep. the roots penetrate the ground without being attached to the bowl. These nests are durable and last for centuries. This unusually slow growing tree forms catkin-shaped male inflorescences 1-2 m long. Small male flowers in bunches of 20-30 are immersed in pits on the axis of the inflorescence. The flowers of each hole open at the same time, so the flowering of the plant stretches for 8-10 years. A large fruit weighing 13-18 kg ripens in 7-10 years. Fibrous mesocarp (no more than 2.5 cm thick) covers a 2-lobed "bone" containing a large 2-lobed seed. Some fruits have 2 or sometimes 3 seeds and reach a mass of over 45 kg. The jelly-like endosperm of immature seeds hardens over time. The seed germinates in 1-1.5 years. A young plant receives nutrients from the endosperm for 3-4 years. The unique fruits of the Seychelles palm, or rather, their unusual shape, 2-lobed endocarps, became known to people long before the discovery of the plant itself. They were found thrown out by sea currents on the coasts of the islands of the Indian Ocean, in particular the Maldives, Java, Sumatra. In Europe, they have been known since the Middle Ages and were highly valued. The origin and unusual shape of the fruits received fantastic explanations, magical powers were attributed to the fruits. The fluid in the fruit was considered an antidote for all poisons. Monarchs and princes, seeking to acquire these miraculous fruits, were ready to pay huge sums of money. The "nuts" picked up by the natives were considered the property of the kings, and anyone who concealed them was killed or had his hands cut off. For centuries, the fruits of the Seychelles palm have been the subject of outlandish fictions and legends. The miraculous properties of the "walnut" were debunked in the middle of the 18th century, when the French discovered the Seychellois palm while exploring the island of Praslin. Now this plant is cultivated in hot countries. The jelly-like pulp of its fruit is considered a delicacy. Dishes, kitchen utensils, ladles for scooping water in pies, etc. are made from solid endocarp. The leaves serve as roofing material, young leaves are used to weave hats and baskets.

Subfamily karyotes(Caryotoideae) - one of the most distinctive groups of palms - consists of 3 genera and about 35 species of monocarpic palms, found from India and Sri Lanka to the Ryukyu Islands, the Solomon Islands and Northeast Australia, mainly in areas with heavy rainfall and on small heights. Members of this group are distinguished from other palms by their pinnate or doubly pinnate (karyota) leaves, which have induplicative feathers or feathers with veins radiating from the base, or sometimes from the midrib, and ending in teeth along the margin; their tops are usually rounded, wedge-shaped or truncated and serrated. Leaves of karyotes, outwardly induplicat, are anatomically similar to leaves of reduplicate type. These palms also stand out for their unusual way of flowering. Inflorescences are usually formed basipetally - from the top of the stem down, less often acropetally. The stem then dies off. The peduncle bears several covering leaves; the inflorescence consists of numerous simple hanging branches, but in some species of caryotes the inflorescences are spike-shaped. Flowers usually in triads of 2 male and 1 female, or unisexual inflorescences (Arenga, Wallichia), and there are several of them in a node: the central one is female, the lateral ones are male. Male flowers with 3 imbricate or fused sepals and 3 folded or fused at the base and folded at the top large boat-shaped petals. Stamens from (3) 6 to almost 250. Gynoecium syncarpous, of 3 carpels; ovary 3-1-locular, with 3-1 ovules. Fruit 1-3-seeded: juicy mesocarp with abundant needle-like crystals of calcium oxalate, thin endocarp. The arrangement of flowers in triads and their structure, as well as the presence of crystals and a number of other features, bring karyotes closer to the Arecaceae subfamily.

Genus arenga(Arenga) is the most primitive genus of the subfamily. About 17 species of arenga are known in India, Southeast Asia, the Philippine, Caroline, Christmas Islands, Aru, Kai and New Guinea. The most cold hardy arena engler(A. engleri) is native to the islands of Taiwan and Ryukyu. Arenga species are low, sometimes no more than 60 cm (dwarf arenga - A. papa), or tall, slender, single-stem or multi-stem palm trees, covered with black fibrous sheaths, with a crown of dark green (often silvery below) pinnate leaves. Of all the types of arenga, the sugar palm, or gomuti palm(A. pinnata, also known as A. saccharifera, fig. 238). It is the most important economic plant of the Asian tropics. Single stems of sugar palm 6-12 (18) m high are covered with felt of black, horsehair-like fibers of leaf sheaths. The remnants of the larger vascular bundles protrude from the black fibrous mass like long, flexible needles. Epiphytic plants settle in this powerful fibrous cover. At the time of aging, the palm tree acquires such a shaggy, "unkempt" appearance that it can hardly be called majestic and slender. The sugar palm is found in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. Its homeland is, obviously, the Malay Archipelago, in other areas it has naturalized. Since ancient times, the sugar palm has been cultivated throughout tropical Asia because of the juice that is obtained by draining the male inflorescences. During the fermentation of the juice, wine (toddy), alcohol, and vinegar are obtained. Palm trees, unproductive for sugar, are cut down, removing the sago stem from the starchy core. Durable and water-resistant fiber is one of the most important industrial products of the sugar palm. Leaves - roofing material. Wood and leaf stalks are used in construction. The sap of the palm tree and the infusion of the roots have medicinal properties; their native inhabitants use them to treat a number of diseases.

Genus caryota(Caryota) differs from all other palms in its unique leaves. Types of karyota - tall palm trees (up to 20-25 m, as caryota Rumpha- C. rumphiana or caryota but- C. no) or shrubby plants with large, beautifully dissected leaves. The exact number of species is still unknown (it is believed that there are about 12); in culture they hybridize. The range of the karyota extends from Sri Lanka and Northeast India through Southeast Asia to the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and Northeast Australia. Karyota species are among the fastest growing palms, but also the shortest living. The average life expectancy of a single-barreled caryota is only 20 years. The first inflorescences appear in the axils of the upper leaves. Inflorescences of numerous hanging branches resemble a huge clipped horse's tail. At unicorn karyotes(C. monostachya), the stems of which do not exceed 1 m, and the diameter is only 2.5-3 cm, the inflorescences are simple, spike-shaped.

Cariota stinging, or wine palm(Table 55, 3, 4, Fig. 238) is an economically important plant in India. Its trunk, 12-18 m high, carries a crown of several large, gracefully curved leaves 5-6 m long. This palm tree grows in India, Burma, Nepal and Sri Lanka, rising in the Himalayas to a height of up to 1525 m. for the presence of numerous needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate scalding - hence the specific name of the palm tree. Wine, sugar are obtained from the juice of inflorescences, sago is extracted from the core of the trunk. Wood is used in construction. The bases of the leaves, a source of strong fiber from which brushes and ropes are made, are so strong that they were used to bind wild elephants. Often cultivated in tropical countries and common in greenhouse collections. tender caryota(C. mitis) - an elegant palm tree that forms compact bunches of low stems. Its range stretches from Burma to the Malay Peninsula, Kalimantan and the Philippine Islands. It usually grows in secondary forests.

The most evolutionarily advanced genus of the karyotes subfamily is wallichia(Wallichia) - found in the Eastern Himalayas, southern China and Indochina (Fig. 238). Types of Wallichia (6 are known) are low or medium-sized palm trees. They form, as a rule, male and female inflorescences; the latter are usually apical and with stiffer branches than the lateral male inflorescences.

Genus nipa(Nypa), which differs from other palms in its extraordinary originality, constitutes a separate subfamily nip(Nypoideae, fig. 239). mangrove palm, or nipa bushy(N. fruticans), - the only species of this genus - forms dense thickets that stretch for hundreds of kilometers in estuaries and on the muddy banks of rivers from Sri Lanka and the Ganges Delta to Australia, the Solomon Islands and the Ryukyu Islands. Nipa, now limited to the eastern tropics, had a much wider distribution in the past (Map 14). The appearance of the nipa is unique. E& allocate creeping underground stems, often dichotomously branching, forming bunches of bright green shiny leaves with powerful elongated cylindrical petioles. The broad bases of the leaves are permeated with air cavities connecting with the large air cavities of the roots. On the lower surface of numerous hard feathers, regularly located along the rachis, noticeable shiny scales are located along the midrib. The inflorescences of this monoecious palm, arising in the axils of the leaves, are panicles of an unusual type. The female flowers are densely clustered into a globular head that completes the main axis of the inflorescence. Below it there are 7-9 lateral branches, branching on the axis of the 2-6th order, each lateral branch ends with a dense spike of male flowers. The preleaf and the sterile covering leaf on the peduncle enclose the entire inflorescence. Covering leaves, present at the base of the branches, cover not only those branches that support, but also all subsequent ones. Thus, the inflorescence is covered with layers of tubular bracts that protect the developing flowers from flooding with brackish water during high spring tides. Male and female flowers are sessile, arranged in a spiral. Sepals and petals are free, similar. Male flowers do not have gynoecium rudiments, female ones are devoid of staminodes. Stamens 3, filaments and connectives connected in a massive column. Anthers elongated, open with longitudinal slits. The female heads consist of nearly 30 tightly clustered flowers, spirally and irregularly arranged in 6-7 vertical rows of 4-5 flowers each. Gynoecium is apocarpous, consisting of 3(4) large asymmetric carpels, which grow rapidly and when flowering greatly exceed the perianth. The carpel of the nipa, cup-shaped, with a large funnel-shaped stigma opening, exhibits a number of characteristics of primitive flowering plants and is unique in the palm family.

In places, nipa plays a significant role in the life of the native population, being a source for obtaining wine, sugar, alcohol, salt, edible endosperm, and fiber. Nipa leaves are an excellent roofing material; the leaves are used for weaving, and the dry petioles are used for fuel and floats for fishing nets.

Subfamily lepidocarian(Lepidocaryoideae) covers about 22 genera and 665 species, which are most abundantly represented in the eastern tropics from Sri Lanka, India and China to Fiji and Western Samoa; 2 genera ( Mauritia and lepidocarium- Lepidocarynm) are limited to the western hemisphere. African representatives of Lepidocaridae are not numerous (5 genera), but include 3 genera, which are considered as primitive because of bisexual flowers, and 2 genera are also found in the New World (raffia) or in the eastern tropics (calamus). Representatives of this subfamily are limited to the most humid tropical regions, where heavy rainfall occurs, and are often found in swamps. Lepidocaraceae are easily distinguished from other palms by their gynoecium and fruits covered with imbricate scales. The leaves are reduplicately pinnate, pinnate or rarely fan-shaped or ridge-shaped. The flowers are bisexual or unisexual, but, as a rule, quite similar in structure; they are located singly or in monopodial pairs. Species in this subfamily are often spiny palms; their appearance is diverse - from "stemless" plants to tall tree-like forms or climbing vines (Fig. 240, 241). Among Lepidocaridae there are monoecious and dioecious palms, polycarpics and monocarpics. Inflorescences are large and paniculately branched or short and slightly branched. Peduncle often adnate at the base or at a great distance to the axis or sheath of the overlying leaf. Flowers in the axils of bracts arranged in two rows on the branches of the inflorescence. Sepals fused into a 3-lobed or 3-toothed calyx; petals 3, free, folded or fused at the base and folded from above; stamens are usually 6 or 20 or more (in raffia) and 70 (in eugeissons- Eugeissona). The gynoecium is syncarpous, of 3 carpels, the ovary is completely or not completely 3-locular. The fruit is usually 1-3-seed.

Genus metroxylon(Metroxylon) - the most important representative of this subfamily, includes 8 (according to other sources 15) species. Many are limited to one, rarely two, Pacific islands, occurring in the Solomon Islands, Bougainville, the New Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, and the Carolines. Much more widespread sago palm(M. sagu including metroxylon Rumfa- M. rumphii, fig. 240), which is the main source of sago. It is found from New Guinea and the Moluccas, where it grows wild and cultivated, to Thailand, Indonesia, and the Malay Peninsula, it has been cultivated in villages since ancient times and is now found there in a semi-wild state. For the Papuans, who inhabit the lowland marshes of New Guinea, the starch extracted from the core of the sago palm stems serves as a staple food and pet food. It replaces rice in Western Malesia at the time before harvest. This monoecious monocarpic palm with an underground rhizome and numerous stems forms extensive thickets in swampy lowlands almost devoid of ground vegetation, encroaching on abandoned rice fields and occupying poorly drained land. Sago palm forms huge apical paniculate inflorescences. Doubly arranged branches of the third order, resembling corn cobs in appearance, carry pairs of flowers densely located in the axils of the bracts - male and bisexual. When flowering, male flowers open first, and after a while - bisexual. This palm is cut down before flowering, when the core of the stem contains the maximum amount of starch. The soft core extracted from the stem is washed many times. Sago, obtained by forcing a starch paste through a sieve onto a hot metal plate, is exported to many countries. The inhabitants of the Moluccas and New Guinea make flour from starch, from which bread cakes are baked. Large leaves of the sago palm serve as roofing material. Stems and petioles of leaves are used in the construction of houses, fences and partitions.

Genus raffia(Raphia) has about 20 (according to other sources 30) species of monoecious monocarpic palms, limited in their distribution mainly to tropical Africa, with the exception of 2 species in Madagascar and tropical America. Raffia species are inhabitants of swamps, swampy forests, flooded lowlands, forming dense, clean stands, where the soil is covered with a carpet of respiratory roots - pneumatophores, protruding from water or silt, like mangrove plants. Respiratory roots are developed by most types of raffia, with the exception of raffia royal(R. regalis), living on slopes and hilltops and in rain forests from Nigeria to the Congo. Types of raffia - single-stemmed or with numerous stems of palm trees 8-12 m high, sometimes almost "stemless" (as raffia sudanese- R. sudanica). Leaves pinnate, large. Powerful, branched inflorescences that arise in the axils of reduced leaves at the top of the stem, breaking through the vagina, hang down. The terminal branches, often flattened, bear female flowers at the base and male flowers at the top. Palm trees form a large number of fruits that look like cones.

Raffia mucosal(R. farinifera, Fig. 241) - one of the largest raffia with a powerful stem up to 10 m high, dressed in a shell of non-falling leaf bases, on which many epiphytic plants settle. It is found in swamps, along river banks, in damp forests from sea level to an altitude of 1500 m in tropical East Africa and Madagascar. From the young, unopened leaves of this plant, a soft fiber known as "bast-raffia" is obtained and is widely used in horticulture as a garter. From leaf sheaths raffia hooker(R. hookeri), raffia pinus palm(R. palma-pinus) produce a strong fiber - West African piassava, from which hard brooms, brushes, and mats are made. Hooker's raffia, a wine palm widely distributed from Guinea to Cameroon, south to Gabon and probably Angola, is the source of palm wine, which is obtained by drilling the stems above the apical bud. wine raffia(R. vinifera), the "bamboo palm" of the Niger Delta, in contrast to its name, is little used for wine production. The stems of this palm tree, used for building houses, are cut down and dried for several days. Raffia leaves - roofing material.

More than half of the genera and 3 / 4 of all species of Lepidocaridae are rattan palms (Fig. 241). Genus calamus(Calamus) is the largest genus of rattan palms. Calamus species grow in the rainforests of tropical Africa, Asia, the islands of the Malay Archipelago to Australia, the Solomon Islands, the Fiji Islands and the Philippine Islands to Taiwan. The genus reaches the greatest number of species and diversity in tropical forests on the Malay Peninsula and on the islands of the Malay Archipelago. On the island of Kalimantan, several species of calamus climb the mountains to a height of up to 3000 m. Calamus blackberry(C. erinaceus) is a common plant in mangrove swamps. The vast majority of species are climbing vines; erect shrub-like palms or almost "stemless" are also known, as pygmy calamus(C. pygmaeus) - the smallest species of the genus, found on the tops of the mountains of Kalimantan. The diameter of the stem in climbing palms varies from 7-9 cm in large Malay rattan calamus manan(C. manan) up to only 2-3 mm Javanese calamus(C. javensis). In various climbing species of calamus, there are either whip-like continuations of the leaf blade or whip-like sterile inflorescences equipped with claw-like spikes with thickened bases and sharp curved tops (Fig. 241). They are often connected laterally, forming 3-5-fingered spines, which are whorled on the lashes. Tubular sheaths, like other parts of the plant, are very prickly, seated with single or bundled or whorled spines and spines. Already thanks to them, the stem easily clings to the support. There is a geniculate swelling at the base of the petiole. Calamus species are dioecious plants. They form lateral inflorescences, often spiny, with sterile spiny tops. Covering leaves are persistent, tubular or rarely split, cover the peduncle and the base of the branches of the first order. Thin twigs of inflorescence with funnel-shaped tubular bracts.

Genus demonorops(Daemonorops), close to calamus, is the second largest genus of rattan palms. Although the center of its maximum development coincides with the center of maximum development of the calamus (Sumatra, Kalimantan, the Malay Peninsula), demonorops has a much more limited distribution in tropical Asia and is absent in Australia and Africa. Most of the species of this genus are thorny vines of tropical forests, climbing with the help of whip-like continuations of leaf blades, less often they are shrub-like plants or almost "stemless" palms. Unlike calamus, demonorops inflorescences are short, devoid of claw-like spikes; sterile inflorescences are not formed. Covering leaves fall off, with the exception of the outermost, which in some cases persists for a long time (Fig. 241).

Flexible strong stems of calamus and demonorops species, known as "rattan", "rattan cane", "Spanish reed", are imported to Europe, the USA, and Asian countries. Collecting rattans in the rainforest is hard and dangerous work. The stems are cut near the ground and separated from the trees, to which they are hung with thorny lashes, then they are cleaned of the sheaths and cut into pieces, each about 5 m long, rolled up and tied into bundles. Usually the stems are split into strips for weaving the seats of chairs, baskets, belts. Thicker stems are used unsplit for the manufacture of wicker furniture, canes. Calamus manan(C. manan) is one of the most important furniture rattans. Economically important blue-grey calamus(C. caesius), which is also cultivated in forest-cut strips, and cane calamus(C. scipionum) with long internodes, it is used to make walking sticks. The native population has long used rattans extensively. Rattan stems are used for weaving mats, carpets, baskets, curtains. They replace ropes, ropes for mooring ships, use them to make rope ladders, leashes, suspension bridges over gorges. Some types of demonorops (especially demonorops dragons- D. draco) - sources of "dragon blood" - a dark red resin that stands out between the scales of the fetus; they are used in the manufacture of varnishes.

Genus salakka(Salacca) has more than 10 species of almost "stemless" thorny dioecious palms that form extensive thickets in mountain swamps (at an altitude of more than 1500 m) in tropical Asia (Fig. 231). This genus differs from all other palms in the unusual arrangement of the inflorescence protruding through a slit on the dorsal side of the leaf sheath. This type of initiation and development of the inflorescence bud, like that of the herring, is not known in other flowering plants. Vegetative buds forming side shoots are located almost opposite the leaf. The extra-axillary location of vegetative buds is known in other genera of rattan palms (for example, demonorops and cortalsia). Salakka edible grows wild and is cultivated in Indonesia for its prickly fruits, which have a yellowish sweet and sour flesh that tastes like an apple.

childbirth Mauritia(Mauritia) and lepidocarium(Lepidocaryum) - dioecious palms of the tropical regions of the New World. The Mauricia genus includes 16 (according to other sources, 6, 9-10) species of tree-like palms with thin or powerful, smooth or prickly, columnar stems, common in the northern part of South America and in Trinidad. Maurytia sinuous(M. flexuosa) is one of the most majestic Amazonian palms. A columnar stem up to 25 m high or more carries a crown of large comb-fan leaves, deeply dissected into segments with tops hanging down. It occurs in abundance mainly in pure stands in swamps or periodically flooded lands in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers and their tributaries, entering the foothills of the Eastern Andes, as well as in the flooded savannas of Trinidad. This palm tree has long occupied an important place in the life of the Indians inhabiting the swampy regions of the Amazon region, being for them the "tree of life". Mauritia fruits with oily pulp are their main food. A soft drink and jam are prepared from them, and edible oil is extracted. Leaves - roofing material. They are also used for many other purposes. From the epidermis of young leaves, fiber is obtained for ropes, fish tackle; from the core of the stem - starch. Holes are cut in the fallen stems through which sweet juice flows. Fat beetle larvae settle on the destroyed palm stalks, which the Indians eat as a delicacy. Palm roots are used in folk medicine.

The largest subfamily of palm trees arecaceae(Arecoideae) - unites about 115 genera and 1100 species growing in the tropical regions of both hemispheres. Their leaves are reduplicate pinnate or less often pinnate. In most species, the leaf sheaths are tubular, forming a "cylinder" at the top of the stem below the crown. The leaf falls off entirely, leaving only annular scars on the smooth trunk. Inflorescences formed in the crown or below, usually with 1-2 (rarely more) covering leaves. Flowers are monoecious or rarely dioecious, solitary or in vertical rows (Fig. 242), in triads of a female and two lateral males, or in pairs as a result of the reduction of triads. Flowers usually with 3 sepals, 3 petals. Male flowers with 3-6 or numerous stamens and a vestigial gynoecium. Female flowers with small staminodes. Gynoecium syncarpous of 3 carpels or pseudomonomeric; ovary 3- or 1-locular. The fruit is usually one-seeded, the endocarp is membranous, thinly woody or almost bony, devoid of pores.

Pseudophoenix (Pseudophoenix) - the only genus of the subfamily with bisexual flowers; a few male flowers with a strongly reduced gynoecium are placed on the tops of the branches of the inflorescence (Fig. 242). This genus is remarkable for the unusually elongated flower base, elongated into a thin stalk, the method of attaching the anther, as well as the unique structure of the leaf, the lower surface of which bears numerous folds of large bundles of fibers, stomata are located in the grooves between the ridges. Species of pseudophoenix are found from Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Mona and Dominica to the coast of Yucatan and British Honduras. They grow on well-drained sand and porous limestone on seashores and dry limestone hills and rocks amid xerophilous vegetation.

The spiral arrangement of single flowers in a highly branched inflorescence and some anatomical features connect pseudophoenix with a group of palms common in the Andean highlands in South America (ceroxylon), on the island of Robinson Crusoe (monotypic genus Juania), as well as in Madagascar and the Comoros ( luvelia- Louvelia, equal- Ravenea). These dioecious palms are adapted to seasonal rainfall and mountain forest conditions in the fog belt, American genera to a relatively cold climate.

One of the most remarkable representatives of the subfamily is the genus ceroxylon, or wax palm(Ceroxylon), unites more than 15 species of palms growing on the steep, steep slopes of the Andes at an altitude of more than 1500 m from Venezuela and Colombia to Peru and Bolivia. The slender, columnar "trunks" of these palms, sometimes up to 60 m high, are covered with wax, which is the reason for the name of the genus (from the Greek keros - wax and xylon - wood). Ceroxylon, Kindyosky(C. quindiuense) - the tallest palm in the world - is chosen as the national emblem of Colombia. It grows in the Kindyo gorge, west of Bogota, on the eastern slope at an altitude of up to 3000 m; thousands of palm trees have been cut down here for the wax. On the western slope of this gorge, in the strip of coffee plantations, grows ceroxylon alpine(S. alpinum, Fig. 242) - one of the most famous wax palms.

A special group in the subfamily is represented by the genera Chamedorea, Gioforba and related genera that make up the tribe chamedorean(Chamaedoreeee). neotropical genus chamedorea(Chamaedorea, more than 100 species) - the largest genus of this group - is represented by low graceful shade-loving palms with thin reed-like stems and whole, 2-lobed at the top or pinnate leaves (Fig. 242). Some species of hamedorea are creepers with long thin stems, climbing trees with the help of leaves, the upper feathers of which are spaced and modified into hook-shaped spikes bent back. The range of the genus stretches from Mexico to Peru and Brazil. Types of chamedorea are dioecious palms. These are wonderful ornamental plants with an unusually diverse foliage, size, and general habit. They are grown in greenhouses and rooms. Hamedorea graceful(C. elegans) is one of the most popular indoor plants.

Species of the genus Hyophorbe (Hyopliorbe), including mascarene(Mascarena), endemic palms of the Mascarene Islands, often cultivated in tropical countries. Hyophorba bottle(N. lagenicaulis, tab. 56, 2) has a stem swollen at the base, which narrows sharply upward. The stiff feathers of a few leaves are arranged vertically, overlapping at the edges and revealing a powerful leaf rachis. This palm tree is known in the wild only on the island of Mauritius. Hyophorba species are among the endangered palms. According to G. Moore (1979), there are only 4-5 wild specimens hyophores of Verschafelt(N. verschaffeltii, Fig. 242) on the island of Rodrigues and the only specimen hyophorbe bittersweet(N. amaricaulis) on the island of Mauritius. More widespread hyophorba indica(N. indica). It has a bitter "cabbage" and grows on Réunion Island on almost inaccessible rocks or on land unsuitable for agriculture. A series of small populations of this palm is known, numbering less than 500 specimens.


Table 56. Palm trees: 1 - rattan palm (Calamus rotang), Singapore Botanical Garden; 2 - bottle hyophorbe (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis), Pamplinus Botanical Garden, about. Mauritius; 3 - areca catechu, betel palm (Areca catechu), fruits in the market, Lae, New Guinea; 4, 5 - Neodypsis decaryi, Fairchild Tropical Garden, South Florida, USA

Kinds royal palm(Roystonea) are among the most beautiful and majestic palm trees in the world. Although these palms have been known for a long time and are widely cultivated, the exact number of species and their distribution is still unclear. More than 10 species are known (according to other sources, 17) found in South Florida, the Bahamas and Antilles, Honduras and Eastern Venezuela. These are large plants up to 40 m or more with gray smooth columnar "trunks" and a beautiful crown of arcuately curving pinnate leaves with numerous shiny feathers located in one or more planes. Cuban royal palm(R. regia, pl. 57, 2, 2) adorns the coat of arms of Cuba. It is the most widespread palm tree and can be found everywhere in Cuba. The royal palm forms groves, grows along river banks, in valleys and on hills, usually rising to a height of no more than 300 m, along roads and between sugar cane plantations. The Cuban royal palm and other species of this genus are often cultivated in tropical countries. These are the well-known avenida palms. Symmetrical rows of these majestic palm trees adorn the boulevards and avenues of tropical cities.

Genus areca(Aresa) has about 50 species of monoecious palms in Indo-Malesia to the Solomon and Philippine Islands and Northeast Australia. Areca catechu, or betel palm(A. catechu, tab. 56.5, fig. 243) is one of the most important economic plants in the tropics of the Old World. This slender palm with a flexible thin stem 12-18 (30) m high, bearing a crown of 8-12 pinnate leaves up to 2 m long, blooms in the 4-7th year of life, forming a strongly branched inflorescence at the base of a green "cylinder" on the top of the stem. The fruits are single-seeded, the size of a chicken egg, with a thick fibrous mesocarp; ripen about 8 months, changing color from green to orange-yellow or red. The seeds contain tannins and alkaloids, of which the most important are arecoline, which has toxic properties, arecoidin, etc. Finely chopped slices of seeds are part of betel gum along with betel (Piper betle) with the addition of gambier (Uncaria gambir) and quicklime; this chewing gum is used by millions of people in tropical Asia and Africa. When chewing, the oral cavity, tongue, gums, abundant saliva are stained in a blood-red color. Seeds are also used in medicine, especially in veterinary medicine, and for dyeing fabrics. For the sake of seeds, the betel palm has been widely cultivated since ancient times in tropical Asia, on all the islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. She is unknown in the wild. The Sunda Islands, Malaya and the Philippine Islands were assumed by various botanists to be the centers of origin of the betel palm. Other types of areca, such as Areca three-stamen Fig. 243. Palm trees. Subfamily Arecidae (Arecoideae). Manicaria saccifera (Manicaria saccifera): 1 general view of a palm tree with fruits; 2 - a fragment of an inflorescence with male flowers, scars from male flowers, bracts and bracts are visible; 3 - gynoecium and staminodes; 4 - cross section of the ovary; 5 - a three-seeded fruit, a seed is visible on a longitudinal section. Areca catechu, or betel palm (Aguesa catechu): 6 - general view; 7 - a fragment of an inflorescence, at the base - female flowers, in the upper part - male flowers; 8 - male flower; 9 - female flower; 10 - fetus; 11 - cross section of the fetus; 12 - seed. Areca Langlois (Agesa langloisiana): 13 - longitudinal section of a pseudomonomeric gynoecium; 14 - cross section of the ovary. Welfia George (Welfia georgii): 15 - a fragment of an inflorescence; 16 - the same, enlarged; tops of petals and stamens of male flowers protruding from pits; 17 - cross section of the inflorescence, triads of flowers are visible, immersed in pits on the axis of the inflorescence; 18 - male flower. Asterogyn Martius (Asterogyne martiana): 19 - part of the shoot with fruits. Geonoma few-flowered (Geonoma pauciflora): 20 - general view. Geonoma intermittent (G. interrupta): 21 - part of the inflorescence in the female phase of flowering; 22 - male flower; 23 - longitudinal section of a male flower, Pistillodium is visible; 24 - stamen; 25 - female flower; 26 - longitudinal section of a pseudomonomeric gynoecium, a sterile nest is visible; 27 - cross section of the ovary; 28 - fruit; 29 - longitudinal section of the fetus

Genus close to areca penanga(Pinanga) is the largest genus of the Arecaceae subfamily in the Old World. Types of penanga - low or tiny palm trees with thin single or numerous stems and pinnate or whole 2-cut leaves at the top - are abundant in the undergrowth of moist lowland and mountain forests from India to New Guinea, reaching in the north to Taiwan.

Genus geonoma(Geonoma, Fig. 243) has 75 or more species of low shade-loving and moisture-loving palms with thin reed-like stems; they often form extensive thickets in the undergrowth of moist lowland and montane rainforests. Some species rise in the Andes to a height of up to 3000 m or more. The center of maximum geonomic development is Western Colombia and adjacent Central America with distribution to the Andes of Venezuela and Peru. The second center of concentration of species lies in Southeast Brazil, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in coastal rainforests. Geonoma is the only genus of the group with a pseudomonomeric gynoecium.

Subfamily coconut(Cocosoideae) includes about 28 genera and more than 580 species of pinnate palms, limited to the western hemisphere, with the exception of the oil palm and ubeopsis in Africa and the pantropical coconut palm. Species in this subfamily are adapted to colder, drier, and more seasonal climates. They are found in the savannahs, dry campos and serrados that cover large areas of Brazil, or in tropical rainforests at low to medium altitudes. Coconut species - undersized or "stemless" palms with creeping and underground stems, climbing vines or tall tree-like plants with a single stem or many stems, sometimes very prickly or with teeth and spikes on petioles (Fig. 244-246). Inflorescences are simply branched or spicate. The peduncle forms a short preleaf, open at the apex, usually included in the leaf sheath, and much larger, fibrous, membranous or woody and then often deeply furrowed, persistent or late falling sterile bract, surrounding the inflorescence and splitting during flowering. Flowers usually in triads of two lateral male and central female in the lower part of the branches of the inflorescence, above the triads - male flowers in pairs or solitary, or inflorescences can be male and female, or male and bisexual on the same plant. Male flowers with 3 free, imbricate or fused sepals and 3 folded petals, with 6 or more stamens and usually with a rudimentary gynoecium. Female flowers are usually larger than male flowers, with 3 free or fused sepals, 3 imbricate or fused petals, with free or fused staminodes. Gynoecium syncarpous, with 3-7 carpels; ovary 3-7-celled. Fruit 1-7-seeded, at the base with a persistent perianth. The endocarp is thick, bony, with 3 or more seedling pores at the base, middle, or top. The presence of pores in the hard endocarp distinguishes coconut palms from all other palm subfamilies. The seed has a homogeneous or ruminated, often hollow endosperm.

The coconut subfamily includes a number of important palms, from the fruits and seeds of which palm oil is extracted. Of these, coconut and oil palms are plants of paramount economic importance, the main sources of palm oil.

The monotypic genus Cocos takes its name from the Portuguese word "soso", which means "monkey". Sailors of the expedition of Vasco da Gama called coconuts because of the peculiar resemblance of the endocarp to the monkey's face. Coconut palm(S. nucifera, tab. 57, 58, fig. 244) grows on ocean coasts, coral islands and atolls in tropical areas. Slender, flexible, up to 25-30 m high "trunks" of palm trees, usually inclined towards the sea, are crowned with a beautiful crown of large shiny pinnate leaves. The groves of coconut palms that line the coasts are a very characteristic feature of the seaside vegetation of the Pacific islands.

Abundant sunlight and sea breezes carrying salt spray, well-drained soil behind the sandy beach strip, aerated by tides, a constant supply of fresh soil moisture, high humidity and a large amount of rainfall are exceptionally favorable for the luxuriant growth of the coconut palm. root system,

firmly fixing the palm, composed of numerous adventitious roots extending from the expanded base of the trunk, buried to a depth of half a meter. The roots spread horizontally over an area larger than the crown diameter. The coconut palm tolerates flooding with sea water during severe storms, while the roots of the palm tree not only do not get damaged at all, but absorb strong saline solutions.

Chemical analysis of coconut palm ash showed that all its parts contain a significant amount of table salt, especially a lot of it in the leaves. A palm plantation on an area of ​​1 ha annually extracts up to 120 kg of sea salt from the soil. Each palm tree requires 1.34 kg of salt per year for its growth. In Brazil, seaweed and halophyte ash are used as fertilizer for the coconut palm.

This monoecious palm tree blooms at the age of 6-12 (15) years, forming an axillary paniculate inflorescence 1-2 m long. . Fruit color varies from green, yellow and orange to dark brown before falling off. Under the smooth dense outer shell there is a fibrous mesocarp 2 to 15 cm thick (usually 4-8 cm) and a very hard stony endocarp (stone) with 3 germinal pores - "eyes" at the base, of which only one serves to exit the germinating embryo, and the other two grow. The endosperm of an immature nut is liquid, contains up to 0.5 liters of a transparent, cool, sour-sweet, thirst-quenching liquid rich in sugar and vitamins in the cavity. As the fruit ripens with the appearance of drops of oil, it becomes a white emulsion ("coconut milk"), then thickens and compacts, turning into white pulp; the inner part of the endosperm remains liquid for a long time. It takes 30 to 220 days for a coconut to germinate, with most nuts germinating in the second month under favorable conditions. The cotyledon remains inside the nut for a long time (12-15 months), even after the plant has formed 3-4 large leaves.

Coconuts, falling into the water, are carried by sea currents. They are well adapted to long sea voyages. They owe their buoyancy to the fibrous outer shell filled with air and impervious to salt water and the cavity in the endosperm, partially filled with liquid, which is absorbed when the fruit ripens.

The stone provides reliable protection of the seed both when the nut falls from the tree and during a long voyage in the sea. Strong winds and storms, which are common in places where the coconut palm grows, contribute to the spread of the fruit. Floating coconuts are common near the coasts of many Malay and Pacific islands. Coconuts do not lose their ability to germinate after swimming in the sea for 110 days. During this time, they can be carried by favorable ocean currents to a distance of up to 4800 km. Nut germination can begin and continue while the nuts are floating in the sea.

The successful natural dispersal of the coconut palm without human assistance is a much more serious problem than the ocean currents itself. Seedlings are damaged by the sun, but at the same time they cannot stand strong shading. They are often destroyed by wild pigs, crabs, rodents, monkeys and other animals, which significantly limits their chances of survival. Coral islands and atolls are the most favorable for the natural reproduction of the coconut palm due to the low risk of destruction by animals and the absence of competition from woody plants. A remarkable example of the natural distribution of the coconut palm is the island of Krakatau, where the coconut palm appeared some time after the volcanic eruption in 1883, which completely destroyed the entire fauna and flora of the island. In 1906, a large number of fruiting palms already grew there, and fruiting began several years before 1906. On one of the islands that appeared after the eruption near Krakatoa, sprouted nuts were found after 18 months. The coconut palm apparently settled without human help on sandbars in British Honduras, on the east coast of Trinidad, on the rocky islands of Fiji, and also on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, but the species owes a very large extent to its wide distribution in tropical areas of both hemispheres. The Spaniards introduced it to the West Indies and the southern Caribbean coast, the Portuguese to Bahia and other parts of Brazil, the Arabs to the African coast, the Maritime Tamils ​​and the sailors of the Bengal coast to the islands of the Indian Ocean. The Malays and Polynesians, going on long sea voyages in boats, invariably took coconuts with them as a supply of food and excellent drink, moreover, in excellent packaging. Traveling along the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, they planted coconut palms everywhere on the coasts they visited.

The origin of the coconut palm is the subject of lively debate. Some botanists consider tropical America to be its homeland (the Pacific coast of Panama or the Andes of Colombia, according to O. Cook, 1902, 1904); from here it was carried by ocean currents or by American Indians to the islands of Polynesia. The undeniable presence of coconut palm groves on the Pacific coast of Panama and Cocos Island even before Columbus came to America, as well as the concentration of almost all representatives of the coconut subfamily in tropical America, is the main argument of supporters of the American origin of the coconut palm. Other botanists, and most of them, are in favor of the Indo-Pacific (and especially Melanesian) origin of this palm. Many facts speak in favor of this hypothesis, especially the discovery in South Africa yubeopsis kaffir(Jubaeopsis caffra), linking the coconut palm with related palms from the subfamily of South American coconuts, and fossil finds of coconut fruits and pollen in Tertiary deposits on the North Island of New Zealand and India. The vast majority of insects associated with the coconut palm are found in Melanesia.

The coconut palm is one of the most useful tropical plants. It is called the "tree of life", "the greatest breadwinner of mankind in the tropics." Indeed, in the Pacific Islands, it serves as one of the main sources of life for the native population, providing them with almost everything they need. The coconut palm has been cultivated since ancient times in all tropical countries, mainly in the Philippines, the islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Malay Peninsula, India and Sri Lanka. Copra (dried seed endosperm) is the source of coconut oil. It is widely used in cooking, the confectionery industry, in the production of margarine, the best varieties of soap, cosmetics, candles, etc. The cake remaining after squeezing copra is a valuable feed for livestock. Fresh endosperm is eaten. It is used in the preparation of various tropical dishes and delicacies. The "water" of an unripe coconut (aged 6-7 months) - a common drink in the tropics - has medicinal properties. Fiber from the mesocarp of fruits (coir), strong, elastic, resistant to salty sea water, is a material for the manufacture of ropes, ropes, mats, carpets, brushes. Dishes, buttons, combs, bracelets, musical instruments, jewelry are made from the solid endocarp of the fruit. It is also used in the production of high quality charcoal, plastics, and as a fuel. Palm sugar, wine, alcohol, and vinegar are obtained from the sweet juice obtained by draining young inflorescences. Wood is used for the construction of dwellings, the manufacture of furniture, as a fuel. The leaves are an excellent material for covering roofs, weaving baskets, hats, fans, screens.

Genus eleis(Elaeis), an oil palm of 2 species, is remarkable for its discontinuous range (tropical Africa and tropical America). African oil palm (Eleis Guinea - E. guineensis, Fig. 245) is known in the wild in the coastal regions of equatorial West Africa from 16 ° N. sh. in Senegal to 15 ° S. sh. in Angola. The most abundant oil palm is in the coastal strip 200-300 km wide from Sierra Leone to Cameroon; this area is considered the center of its origin. In the hot, damp valleys of Nigeria and the Congo, it forms almost pure stands. The natural habitats of the oil palm are the banks of rivers and lakes, wet valleys, especially in the transition zone from rainforest to savannahs, swampy alluvial plains, forest edges. Hunters, and later farmers, cutting down and clearing the forest, contributed to the change of natural vegetation, providing the most suitable conditions for the development of the oil palm. In large areas of Africa, it has become "a palm tree of abandoned human sites." The oil palm has been introduced to Malaya, Indonesia, South America and naturalized in the coastal region of Brazil. It is cultivated on extensive plantations in tropical countries, mainly in the Old World.

The oil palm forms a stem 15-20 m high (sometimes up to 30 m) with rings of leaf scars. The stems of young palms are covered with the remains of petioles. This monoecious palm blooms in the 4-8th year of life and continues to bear fruit up to 60 years, forming male and female inflorescences in the correct sequence. The head of the fruit has a porcupine-like appearance due to the long, spiny bracts and sharp spines that terminate the branches of the inflorescence, which protect the fruit from being eaten by animals. Fruits - 1- (rarely 2-3) -seed drupes, yellow, orange, reddish-brown to almost black. The oil palm is especially valuable because it produces two varieties of oils. Palm oil from the pulp of the fruit, rich in carotenoids, is used in the manufacture of soap, candles, as a lubricant, and also to obtain carotene. From the seeds, an edible palm kernel oil is obtained, very similar to coconut oil, with which it is easily interchangeable. It is used in the production of margarine. For centuries, the oil palm has been the main source of fat for the native population, used for food, for lighting, for lubricating the body. Palm oil is the main export of the West African trade.

Of the other oil palms, representatives of the coconut subfamily, we will mention only babassu, or Orbinia Barbosa(Orbignya barbosiana, Fig. 245), - one of the main Brazilian palms economically. The endosperm of the seeds of this palm contains 60-70% oil, which is used as an edible fat, especially for margarine and in the chocolate industry, as well as in the production of toilet soap and cosmetics. The fruits, the size of a duck egg, are produced in abundance in huge hanging racemes up to 1 m long. They have a very hard endocarp and contain 3-7 seeds. There are several large plantations of this palm in Brazil. The orbinia genus includes about 30 species of palms - inhabitants of dry and humid forests and savannahs of Mexico, Central and South America.

peach palm(Bactris gasipaes, Fig. 246) is an important food plant in tropical America. This graceful palm tree develops several thin spiny stems up to 18 m high. Needle-shaped thorns are located in whorls. It forms annually 4-6 large bunches of fruits, each weighing about 11 kg. The fruits, up to 5 cm long, are red, orange or yellow, reminiscent of ripe peaches in their color. The floury flesh of the fruits boiled in salt water is highly nutritious, contains a large amount of starch, fat, vitamins A and C. This palm is unknown in the wild, and its homeland continues to be a subject of conjecture. It has been cultivated for centuries. The Amazon Indian tribes use peach palm fruits in their religious rituals. Some other types of bactris also have edible fruits. Peach palm wood with flexible black fibers, strong and hard, perfectly polished. From it (and also from wood big bactris- V. major and species astrocarium- Astrocarynm) South American Indians make hunting bows, arrows, darts, ritual daggers. The thorns of thorny palms are used for tattooing, which the Indians decorate their bodies with. The genus Bactris is the largest genus of palms in the New World and is distributed from Mexico to South America.

Small subfamily phytelophantine(Phytelephantoideae) is a separate and highly specialized group of palm trees. It has 3 or possibly 4 genera and up to 15 species that live in tropical rainforests, sometimes at fairly high altitudes, in northern South America and the Isthmus of Panama. Representatives of this still little studied group, like nipa, are highly peculiar palms. They are characterized by specialized dimorphic inflorescences and numerous flowers, a syncarpous gynoecium of 7-10 carpels, and warty-tuberous fruits with few seeds. Fitelefantovye - short-stemmed dioecious palms with erect or more or less creeping stems and large pinnate leaves with numerous narrow reduplicate feathers. Male and female inflorescences are completely different in appearance: male - long, thick, catkin-shaped, female - head of sessile very large female flowers. The fruits are collected in a large head; each individual fruit is warty-tuberous with conical outgrowths, 5-10 seeds, with woody fibrous mesocarp and bony endocarp. The endosperm is liquid or jelly-like, becoming very hard and horny when ripe; it is known as "vegetable ivory".

Tagua seeds, or large-fruited wicker(Phytelephas macrocarpa, Fig. 247), whose white hard endosperm is used to make buttons, dice, jewelry, chess pieces, toys, and various handicrafts. This palm tree grows in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, meeting in the Andes at an altitude of up to 1800 m above sea level. In Ecuador, in humid river valleys, it forms groves. Fitelefas develops a creeping stem, often up to 6 m long, but usually no more than 1.5-1.8 m high. In old plants, the stem is well developed. Tagua is a slow growing palm tree. At the age of 14-15 years, when it begins to bloom and bear fruit, the bases of large leaves (up to 6 m long) are still in the ground. The inflorescences develop near or on the soil surface, and the fruit heads often lie on the ground. A palm tree with a stem 2 m high can be 35-40 years old, and individual specimens with a stem 5-6 m, and sometimes 8-10 m - up to 100 years. Local residents use not only seeds, but all parts of the palm tree: the stems give wood, the roofs of dwellings in villages are covered with leaves, ropes and durable clothes are woven from the fiber of the covering leaves of the inflorescences, and the roots are used in folk medicine.

Palm trees are an economically very important group of plants. In terms of importance in human life, it is second only to cereals, and in terms of the variety of uses, perhaps, it has no equal in the world. Almost every type of palm gives a person a lot of valuable products, feeds him, waters and clothes. The coconut palm, the most useful of all palm trees, is named among the 10 most important trees in the world. The main economic plants of the tropics also include African oil and date palms, sugar and sago, wine and peach, palmyra and betel palm. All these palms have been cultivated in the tropics since ancient times. In tropical countries, palm trees are the main source of food for millions of people. Since ancient times, palm trees have firmly entered the daily life of people, their culture, religious beliefs and sacred rites. As ornamental and ornamental plants, palms are highly valued in greenhouses and indoor cultivation and are widely cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions of the globe.

In the USSR, on the southern coast of Crimea and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, as well as in Eastern Transcaucasia and Central Asia, more than 20 species of palms are grown; the most hardy of them are trachycarpus and chamerops, which are able to endure harsh winters without significant damage.

Many people want to create a tropical garden or have a home palm tree in the house. To grow palm tree at home, you need to create native tropical conditions and be patient. The majestic tree has been growing for several decades.

The variety of species, sizes and varieties makes it difficult to choose which house palm we want to get. Many grow quite quickly, grow to gigantic sizes and do not feel comfortable in a small apartment. Our article will help you understand the variety and choose the right plant for home use.

Home palm: description

The palm tree is so named because of the bizarre shape of the leaves, which resemble a human palm. Not all species have this leaf shape, but we learned about this a little later.

The main characteristics of palm trees:

  • To date, several thousand species of palm trees are known. There are far fewer domestic representatives.
  • Home palm - unpretentious plant, which grows slowly in room conditions. Palm trees are native to the tropics and subtropics.
  • The palm tree creates beauty and spectacular appearance with the help of leaves. They form a ball or circle of thin long leaves, some species have wide leaves. The plant does not tolerate the removal of green foliage. Don't do it for no apparent reason.
  • Home palm grows in large pots. As they grow, they increase the earthen spaces for development and growth. In a few years or even decades, a real tree will appear in the house. Under the foliage, you can arrange a tropical clearing for relaxation.
  • The palm tree has a thick trunk and large spreading leaves at the top. The trunk is formed as the plant grows and the stems die off. At home, palm trees do not bear fruit. Due to the dryness and cool temperature, the fruits of the domestic palm do not form.

Many people confuse home palms with false representatives. False palms grow from lignified leaves.

False palms include:

  • dracaena;
  • yucca;
  • pandanus;
  • cordilina.

Dracaena

pandanus

Cordilina

They resemble dwarf palms, which rarely grow more than 1 m.

Another plant looks like a home palm tree - spurge white-veined. Outwardly, it resembles a bizarre palm tree of small size: wide green leaves with a red border grow on the upper part of the stem. In fact, this is a succulent and has nothing to do with a palm tree.

Real palm trees form home flower beds. Some species have many stem-leaves with a large fan. Such house flowers in the form of palm trees are popular with lovers of tropical plants. So that the branches do not fall apart, they are tied, forming a "bouquet".

Varieties of the palm tree

All palms are divided into 2 large groups: fan and pinnate. Distinguished by leaf shape.

Fan palms:

  • coconut:
  • banana:
  • date.

Typical representatives of the cirrus palm are hamerops or trachyaprus. Some palms are low growing like the pineapple palm and with fancy flowers like the caryota palm. Unites domestic palm trees - unpretentiousness to growing conditions and soil composition.

Below is a catalog of decorative indoor palms with photos and descriptions.

Date

This is one of the most common types of house palms:

  • Refers to the type of pinnate: a thick trunk and a fan of leaves at the top.
  • As the leaves grow, they die off and the plant grows in height.
  • The family includes more than 20 species.
  • The homeland of the date is Africa, known since the time of Mesopotamia.

More often, exotic lovers are grown from the stone. But unfortunately, after a few years they regret their act: it grows very quickly and rests on the ceiling of the apartment. It is impossible to make a palm tree from a seed bear fruit. It bears fruit after many years in nature and maintaining the required temperature. They do not require special care: moderate watering and constant temperature, is afraid of drafts and cold windows in winter.


Date palm

Hovea

The origin of the species is the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Grows up to 2 meters at home. Refers to feathery species. The trunk is formed at a fairly "mature" age. The leaves grow straight from the roots, forming a giant hat. Unpretentious and undemanding in care, tolerates lack of light and dryness. Prefers window sills, balconies and other bright and warm places.


Hovea

Liviston

Refers to the fan type. On the stem, thin leaves form a circle with a cut to the middle. Domestic species grow up to 1.5 m. Homeland - South Asia, Australia and the islands. She likes a lot of light and constant temperatures. Lowering the temperature to +10℃ can ruin the plant. Propagated by seeds, which are formed on the lower part of the leaf. Likes constant watering: every day or every other day.


Liviston

parasol palm

Or Likuala. It also appeared in home greenhouses from the tropics. Spectacular leaves of huge size look like a corrugated fan, the trunk is thin and low. It grows no more than 2 m. It is demanding on moisture. Due to abundant watering, the roots can rot, which does not bother the home plant at all. You can get rid of this by watering with alcohol.


parasol palm

Hamedorea (Neanta)

It is called the bamboo palm from the rainforests of Yucatan and Mexico. Pinnate leaves of an elongated shape. The trunk is low, formed from dead stems. At home, it grows up to 1.2 m in a few years. Demanding on light, but does not like direct sunlight. The optimum temperature is more than +18℃. It also requires a lot of watering without standing water and drying out the soil.


Hamedorea

cat palm

Or cyperus grows only in Egypt. It was from him that the legendary papyrus was made. It forms thin stems of dark green color straight from the ground. Leaves form umbrellas in several layers. The palm tree is loved by domestic cats, which is probably why it was given such a name. Like many representatives of the palm family, it requires light and humidity. It is important to observe the tropical temperature.


cat palm

Dracaena

Refers to false palm trees that have appeared at home from the tropics. There are several hundred species. On the upper part of the trunk are thin leaves. Some species have a red border on the foliage. It grows unpretentious. Tolerates drought, dislikes direct sunlight and drafts.


"Palm" Dracaena

rapis

A tropical plant is classified as a fan species. Wide fan-shaped leaves with many cuts grow from a low trunk. At home, low rapis is common, which grows up to 1.5 m.

Much attention must be paid to watering: it does not tolerate waterlogging and overdrying of the soil. Prefers high temperatures from +20℃. In summer, during dry times, a shower of cool water is arranged.


rapis

Cycas or sago palm

The homeland of the plant is considered to be India and the islands of Polynesia. A short plant has a “pot-bellied” trunk, from which stems grow in several groups. Grows very slowly. Under ideal conditions, it adds only 3 cm per year. The foliage practically does not change, it has a dark green color.

Refers to feathery varieties. In care requires direct sunlight for several hours, moderate watering and medium temperatures. If the conditions are not met, it stagnates and does not grow.


cicadas

Areca

The palm is native to China and India. Of the few species, only a few are grown at home. There is no stem. The stems are semicircular in shape, collected in bunches with wide leaves. Growing Areca is difficult.

A young plant up to 6 years of age does not survive sunburn, low temperatures and eventually dies. Requires light from all sides and moderate watering. The optimum temperature is +35℃. It can grow up to 12 m in an apartment.


Areca

Yucca

Refers to false palms, native to the arid regions of Central America. A low shrub with a thick trunk with stiff foliage at the top. The foliage is pointed in shape with stiff hairs along the edges, the length of the sheet reaches half a meter.

Under good conditions, it will bloom: on a tall stick, a stem grows from the center with many white flowers in shape. When leaving, it requires moderate watering: it dies with waterlogged soil and cold air. Tolerates drought. Requires sunny color and air temperature from +20℃.


"Palm" Yucca

Karyota

The variety is better known as fishtail. The name was given due to the unusual foliage resembling a fish tail. Indoor species grow small. Homeland - the tropical forests of Asia, the Pacific Islands and Australia.

The karyota does not have a trunk, stems with bizarre leaves grow out of the ground. Requires humidity as in the tropics. Resistant to moderate watering, average air temperatures.


Karyota

Livistona chinensis

The species grows naturally in the Pacific Islands, eastern Australia. The houseplant does not have a stem. It grows rapidly due to fan leaves with many cuts. Grows in the shade, at low temperatures of +16-18℃. But it does not tolerate dryness and prefers frequent spraying.


Livistona chinensis

Chrysalidocarpus

Homeland - Madagascar and the islands of Oceania. At home, it grows to several meters. Tall feathery leaves grow on thin trunks; it is impossible to make a palm tree bloom in an apartment. Tolerates low temperatures in apartments, moderate watering. He does not like drafts and a sharp drop in temperature.


Chrysalidocarpus

pandanus

Or the screw palm appeared in apartments from East Asia and Madagascar. Thick feathery leaves form a trunk. As they die, the stem of the plant becomes stiff. Leaves of an adult plant with prickly thorns at the ends, which can be dangerous for children and animals.

In an adult plant, roots appear on the entire trunk, forming bizarre shapes. It grows quickly and reaches several meters. Requires a lot of space and height. Undemanding in care.


"Palm" Pandanus

nolina

Or Beaucarney grows in the southern latitudes of North America. The people call the bottle palm for the bizarre shape of the trunk: at the base it has the shape of a ball, and the trunk resembles a bottle. At the top of the trunk are narrow pinnate leaves. Sometimes confused with dracaena.

Requires full watering and lack of drafts. It is undemanding to lighting, but the foliage will be thicker and brighter in a sunny place.


Nolina

Brigamia

Or the Hawaiian palm came to our apartments from the Hawaiian Islands. At home, it grows up to 1 m. The amazing shape of the plant attracts attention: wide leaves with a waxy coating, resembling cabbage ones, grow on the top of a thick fleshy trunk.

It blooms with amazing flowers of a simple form of light yellow color. They grow in the same way as leaves - from the top of the trunk, it receives an exotic bouquet. It stores a large amount of moisture in the trunk, therefore it tolerates drought. Prefers high temperatures and lack of drafts.


Brigamia

Washingtonia

It grows in natural conditions in the deserts of the subtropics of the south of the North American continent. The variety prefers cool temperatures and bright lighting. Grows up to 20 m even at home. Fan hard leaves grow on a thick trunk.

The lower leaves die off, forming a scaly trunk. Flower stalks with 3 m stems appear on an adult plant. After flowering, small black berries are formed.


Washingtonia

Madagascar palm

Or Pachypodium Lamera. An amazing plant resembles both a palm tree and a cactus up to 1.5 m high at home. The trunk is covered with needles and resembles a cactus. Long narrow leaves are located at the top of the trunk. Drops leaves in winter.

It grows in Madagascar and is poisonous. Requires a lot of light, heat: in summer up to +30℃, in winter not less than +15℃. Does not tolerate changing places and even turning the pot. May drop leaves.


Madagascar palm

Trachycarpus

The variety has been found in the Himalayas, China and Japan. It grows slowly and tolerates negative temperatures. Refers to fan types. Grows as the lower leaves die. At the top are large fan-shaped leaves with many cuts, the leaves are hard.

It is impossible to cut off the lower sheets - this is how the palm tree takes all the useful substances, and when the leaf is completely dry, it can be removed. Undemanding in care: tolerates shade, frost, drought.


Trachycarpus

karludovica pawpaw

False palm. Thick, palm-like leaves grow on a fleshy stem. Requires diffused light, moderate watering and lack of drafts. The homeland of the shrub is Panama. It is also called the Panama palm.


Karlyudovka

Cryosophila spaniscus

Not the most common type of palm trees at home. Homeland of growth - the tropics of Central America. An elegant plant with a single trunk with curved, feathery, fan-shaped leaves. Undemanding to light and watering. Does not tolerate excess salt in soil and water. Pest resistant.

How to grow more crops?

Any gardener and summer resident is pleased to receive a large harvest with large fruits. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to get the desired result.

Often plants lack nutrition and useful minerals

It has the following properties:

  • Allows increase yield by 50% in just a few weeks of use.
  • You can get good harvest even on low-fertility soils and in adverse climatic conditions
  • Absolutely safe

Necessary conditions for house palms

Each type of palm tree requires certain conditions: some need a lot of light, others cannot do without daily watering. However, there are general rules. With proper care and attention, the tropical beauty has been growing for decades.

The average life expectancy of palm trees at home is 15 years.

Consider the features of the maintenance of decorative palm trees.

Priming


Lighting

Palm trees prefer scattered light. The sun's rays will harm the plant and leave burns, due to which the plant will die.

Expose a pot of house palm for several hours in direct sunlight, after peak hours of solar activity. Some species prefer partial shade. In extreme cases, use artificial lighting.

Temperature

The tropical plant prefers warm air temperatures from +16℃ in winter to +30℃ in summer.

Some species require a cool winter. When observing the temperature regime, do not forget about drafts. Plants do not tolerate them.

And it is also necessary to monitor the temperature of the soil: if the roots are supercooled, the plant will die. Therefore, it is not worth putting pots with homemade palm trees on the windowsill and the cold floor. For many species, the temperature is detrimental - + 10 ℃.

Air humidity

For many species, indoor humidity is important:


Palm trees are undemanding to care. Fulfillment of the necessary conditions for the comfortable growth of the home type of palm trees will allow you to admire the beauty for many years.

General rules of care

We will analyze the question of how to care for home palm trees.

Transfer

How house palm trees are transplanted:


reproduction

  1. Most varieties are propagated only by seeds. This requires fresh seeds. After 3-4 years, the seed germinates poorly and takes a long time.
  2. Before sowing, seeds are soaked in water for several days. by changing the water daily.
  3. Plant in light soil with plenty of sand. When a few leaves appear on the palm tree, they are transplanted into a permanent pot with a diameter of no more than 9 cm.
  4. It is better not to use tall pots. TO the root system is strongly extended.
  5. Some species reproduce vegetatively. To do this, separate the branch and sprinkle with earth.
  6. You can plant the plant when transplanting. They "tear" the root system carefully and only after the new plant has its roots.

top dressing

Home palm trees do not require frequent feeding. Due to excess fertilizer, the plant will die.

Feed the plant rarely and only in spring and summer. If you transplant a plant every year, then feed only in the second half of the year. During this period, fertilizers in the soil run out. For feeding palms, universal fertilizer or flower fertilizer is suitable.

pruning

Correct pruning rules:

  1. Many species do not require pruning. Palm trees at home grow slowly and therefore are pruned only for aesthetic reasons and the dried foliage is removed.
  2. Slightly darkened or withered leaves do not need to be trimmed. until the leaf is completely dry. So, she takes all the nutrients.
  3. The rule that frequent pruning promotes rapid growth does not work with house palms. In some cases, even, on the contrary, will destroy the plant.
  4. Pruning to shorten the palm is possible already in adulthood. To do this, use clean and sharp tools.
Mealybug
“I am a summer resident with many years of experience, and I started using this fertilizer only last year. I tested it on the most capricious vegetable in my garden - on tomatoes. The bushes grew and bloomed together, the harvest was more than usual. And they didn’t get sick with late blight, this is the main thing.

Fertilizer really gives more intensive growth of garden plants, and they bear fruit much better. Now you can’t grow a normal crop without fertilizer, and this top dressing increases the number of vegetables, so I am very pleased with the result."

Problems when growing palm trees at home

In the process of growing palm trees, various difficulties and problems arise. Sometimes the plant does not feel very comfortable. It is easy to reanimate a home beauty, knowing what this or that ailment is talking about.

signs Reasons and what to do?
Leaf tips dry or brown They appear when dry. The palm does not like dry air or receives less moisture. To do this, increase watering or watering frequency. And also humidify the air by spraying the leaves, you can simply put an open jar of water. So the water will evaporate and give natural air humidification.

Possibly a palm tree hot on battery. Move to the back of the room. Cut off the dried tips without damaging the green parts of the leaf.
Doesn't grow This happens for various reasons:
  • Not enough heat and light. Many species at low or very high temperatures fall into a stupor and do not grow.
  • Perhaps she is cold. Choose another place where it will be warmer, there will be no drafts.
turns yellow Yellow leaves appear when insufficient watering. The palm tree may need more water if you water frequently.

Yellow leaves also appear when insufficient air humidity. Spray frequently: several times a week. After, reduce the amount to 1-2 times a week. And also put open containers with water.
Wither Palm wilt after transplant expressing dissatisfaction with the change of place. Or do not like the soil or the roots were damaged during transplantation.

If there was no transplant, then probably roots rot. Examine the root system, remove damaged parts. Change soil and reduce watering.
Leaves dry This is happening with burns, especially for young plants. Create a shadow or cover from direct rays with a light-colored cloth or paper.
Rusty spots Appear when the soil is waterlogged or water stagnates inside the pot:
  • The pot should have drainage and several holes so that excess water flows out of the container.
  • Be sure to remove water from the saucer when watering.
  • If the soil is not slightly dry, then postpone watering until the next day.

Also, rust spots are possible with salinity of the water. For irrigation, use settled water so that chlorine, ammonia evaporates, and salts precipitate.

Conclusion

Home palm grows for many years in the apartment. Choosing low and slow-growing species, you can admire the tropical beauty in the interior for many years. Many types of home palms are undemanding to care for.

Frequent watering and enough light will allow her to feel comfortable indoors. The absence of drafts and the optimum temperature will favorably affect the appearance of the plant. ( 1 ratings, average: 4,00 out of 5)

There are about 2800 types of palms on the globe. They differ from most plants in that the leaves grow at the top. However, there are palm trees whose leaves come from the root bud.

Let us consider in more detail all types with names and photos.

There is the following division of indoor palms, based on the characteristics of the leaves and trunk:

Cane. Some, Rapus. Their stems are thin, tall, reed-like.

Cirrus. Hamedorea elegant, Forster and Belmore, date - Roblen and Canary date,. These palms have narrow, arched leaves that can be straight and grow upwards. Crowns of this group are both soft and hard.

fan. Chamerops is squat and tall, Washingtonia, Rapis is high, Livistonia chinensis. The crowns of such palms are split into many segments extending from the center and look like a round fan; they grow very large, their petioles have spines.

Room and decorative

Palm trees in the room are not only exotic, hello from the rainforest, they are an important detail of the interior, often capable of changing it dramatically. However, not all palm trees are suitable for growing in a room.

Here are some particularly interesting ones.

The most common, there are more than 17 species of such palms, they grow wild in Asia and Africa. And if you plant a seed from an ordinary date, it will sprout. Their germination is almost one hundred percent, but they will germinate for about a month. Such a tree will become decorative in five years. Better buy Date finger. This species does not grow in the wild. Indoors, it grows up to 6 meters. True, it takes more than a decade.

Very ornamental plant date Robelin, its fruits are not edible. The palm tree has a crown with leaves gracefully curved down, and an original, as if shaggy trunk.

Date Robelin

They grow indoors, which naturally grows in the forests of India. Her crown is a huge bunch of meter-long leaves on the top of the trunk, covered with a large number of scars, arranged in rings.

The bottle-shaped trunk and leaves look original - a fan Trachycarpus. It is ideally suited for indoor cultivation. Trachycarpus blooms and bears fruit. There are two types: Martius and Fortune.

Grows fastest in rooms Karyota. It differs markedly from other such plants. Vai resemble a triangle stretched upwards. Kariota lives only 20 years.

Decorative palm tree with a crown in the form of a huge bright green fan. Caring for it requires certain knowledge.

Washingtonia filamentous

Hardest to grow indoors . It requires a lot of light and is more suitable for winter gardens. There are mainly two types grown in the room: nut-bearing coconut and Weddell coconut.

Ideal for growing indoors Hamedorei, especially Hamedorei graceful, monochrome, tall and oblong.

palm trees grown in room culture for more than one century. They are very decorative, but they require special conditions for successful cultivation.

Unpretentious slow growing bushy with soft dark green leaves. Perfect for rooms. Easily tolerates all inconveniences: poor lighting, dry air, drafts.

Another feathery palm with soft leaves - Govea, or kentia, popular plant, very decorative.

- widespread indoor plants, unpretentious and very decorative, grow slowly. The trunk is gradually overgrown with brown fibers, the leaves are pinnate with thorns.

Hamerops

One of the most capricious Butia. But if you find an approach to it, it will please you with a surprisingly elegant crown of feathery leaves.

rare Giophorba. It is small, with fan-shaped foxes and a trunk resembling a bottle at the bottom.

Sabal- another rarity from the subtropics of America. Low, bluish-green leaves, grow on short petioles.

Betel- only passionate lovers of palm trees know about it, it is distinguished by the splendor of crowns and a beautiful small trunk. In nature, it grows up to 20 meters in height and has two-meter leaves. In room conditions, it grows for a long time and has a much more modest size.

betel palm

Not grown in rooms

Many remain unknown in indoor floriculture for many reasons. Most often due to the gigantic size or features of growth.

  • oilseed the palm tree grows in Africa, reaches 30 meters in height, sheds leaves every two years.
  • Serenoa creeping growing in the southern United States and on the islands in the Caribbean, this palm grows very slowly and most often reaches no more than 2-4 meters, its flowers have a fragrant smell.
  • carnauba or wax, grows in South America, has fan leaves forming a lush ball. Several types are known.
  • Bismarck grows in Madagascar, has silver-colored leaves.
  • or screw palm. The leaves on its trunk are arranged in several rows in the form of a spiral.
  • - the longest plant in the world, whose leaves grow from buds on the trunk. Easily clings to trees with the help of spikes at the end of the leaves.




Garden

This concept is very conditional, since almost all palm trees can grow in winter gardens and in open plantings, if the climate favors this. There may be limitations only because of the size of the tree, the minimum temperature that it tolerates, and the ability to organize a good shelter for the winter.

Many scientists are working on developing frost-resistant types of palms, because this is a very interesting decorative material for landscape design.

Most often, frost-resistant plants are planted in gardens. Most often it is and, in places with a warm climate, Bismarck.

Trachycarpus

not blooming

There are 50 species of non-flowering palm trees. They are usually spores or vegetatively. In the rooms, almost all do not bloom.

frost-resistant

There are few palm trees that tolerate frost. It is heat-loving plants by origin. But still, there are some.

Let's take a closer look at these varieties with photos and names.

  • Brachea- one of the favorite flower growers who are grown at home. Grows fast. Has fan-shaped juicy green leaves. It is unpretentious in care and can withstand temperatures down to -8 degrees.
  • Trachycarpus- one of the most frost-resistant, can withstand short-term frosts down to -23 degrees and constant frosts down to -10.
  • Wishingtonia thread-bearing- can grow in cold, unheated rooms and tolerate temperatures as low as -5-8 degrees.
  • Sabal- different types tolerate frost from -10 to -20 degrees.
  • Butia- withstands temperatures down to -12. At a frost of -14, the leaves freeze, but they themselves do not die.

Dwarf sabal

Palm trees came to rooms a very long time ago, from those times when they decorated the galleries and front rooms of palaces. And now a large well-groomed palm tree is the pride of its owner. It radically changes the interior of the room and creates a completely different, somewhat unusual and very cozy space. It is believed that it gives its owner health and longevity.

Something about exotic plants grown at home:


Although palms grow in all tropical countries, and some species even enter the warmer regions of the temperate zone, their number and variety are so overwhelming in the countries we describe that palms can safely be considered the most typical forms of vegetation of the equatorial zone. However, they are far from being ubiquitous, and one can walk through the forest for many miles without meeting a single palm tree. Elsewhere they are found in abundance, partly in the undergrowth of tall forests, partly in swampy plains, or finally on mountain slopes, where they often tower above other trees. Particularly impressive and beautiful are the palm trees on the banks of the rivers; they gracefully bend over the surface of the water; the breeze plays with their graceful foliage, and the trunks are often decorated with hanging lianas.

Palm trees are distinguished by their cylindrical trunk, crowned with a cap of wide, harsh leaves. Their growth ranges from a few feet to the size of the tallest forest trees; some have no stem at all, consisting only of a crown of divergent pinnate leaves, but in most the stem appears thin and slender in comparison to its height. In some smaller species the trunk is no thicker than a pencil at 5 or 6 feet high; on the other hand, the huge Mauritia from the Amazon has a trunk at least 2 feet across, and a height of more than 100 feet. There are species reaching about 200 feet in height; thus, Humboldt says that in South America he measured a palm tree, the height of which turned out to be 192 English feet. Palm leaves are often extremely large. In Manicaria saccifera, which grows in Para, they are 30 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide; moreover, they are not pinnate, but are entire and extremely rigid. Pinnate leaves are often much longer; for example, in Raphia taedigera and Maximiliana regia they are often over 40 feet in length. The fan-shaped leaves of other palms are up to 12 feet across. The trunks of the palms are at times smooth and more or less ringed, but are often thickly studded with thorns up to 8 inches long. In many species, withering leaves fall off, leaving a smooth scar in its place; but in most cases they remain, rot very slowly, and finally form a porous mass sticking out at the top of the trunk. This rotting mass provides wonderful soil for ferns, orchids, and other semi-parasitic plants, which by their presence adorn a formation that would otherwise be very unattractive. Leaf sheaths are sometimes worn out, becoming either coarse tissue or ponytail. Individual flowers are small, but united in long spikes or racemes; fruits are often combined into beautiful scaly clusters, sometimes so huge and heavy that even a strong person cannot lift them. The climbing species of palms are very curious; their resilient, slender, thorny trunks rise, clinging with the hook-shaped median veins of their leaves to the tops of the highest trees of the forest, and form above them still an elegant pyramid of leaves and flowers. In America the chief palm of this kind is Desmoncus; in the East, Calamus; the latter is the well-known "rattan", from which we weave seats for chairs; the real Malay name for it is "rattan". These rattan palms are the largest and most wonderful of all climbing palms. They are very common in drier equatorial forests; in the Malay Archipelago alone, more than 60 species are known. Their trunk, cleared of thorns and leaves, is as thick as a feather, sometimes as large as a hand. Where there are many of them, the forest is almost impassable; intertwined and entangled in the most fantastic loops, rattan palms lie on the ground, festooned from tree to tree, from branch to branch, then suddenly freely rising up to the upper border of the forest, then wriggling like endless snakes through a thicket of bushes. They must reach a simply incredible age, and their growth, apparently, is almost unlimited; it is said that specimens of rattan were found 600, even 1,000 feet long and, if this is true, then rattan is without a doubt the longest of the plants. How such a colossal length, such a variety of windings is achieved, I have already explained in a general description of the vines. Due to its extreme flexibility and splitting, rattan in its homeland everywhere goes to rope products, preferably over all other vines; a huge amount of it is annually exported to all countries of the world.