What grows on a palm tree? Palm family. Coconut palm. Date palm. Royal palm. Arecaceae or palm family (Arecaceae) Healing effects and uses

Palms are one of the largest families of flowering plants - there are about 210 genera and 2780 species (G. Moore, 1973), and according to some data - up to 240 genera and about 3400 species. Palm trees are widespread mainly in tropical and subtropical countries throughout globe, but are especially richly represented in Southeast Asia and tropical South America; Only a few species are found in extratropical areas (Map 13). The squat chamaerops (Chamaerops humilis), which is distributed in the Mediterranean from Southern Portugal to Malta, as well as in North Africa, goes farthest to the north (almost 44° N latitude). The Theophrastus date palm (Phoenix theophrasti) grows on the island of Crete. In the arid regions of Afghanistan, Nannorrhops ritchiana is found, the range of which extends further into Pakistan, Southeast Iran and South Arabia. Trachycarpus fortunei reaches 35° N. w. in Korea and Japan. This one of the most cold-resistant palms is known in cultivation in Scotland. Another species of the genus, Trachycarpus takil (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. The genus Livistona extends into Southern Japan and Eastern Australia (up to 37° S). The northernmost American palm tree, growing in the southeastern United States, Sabal minor, is found in North Carolina, and Washingtonia filifera grows on the Pacific coast in the desert oases of Southern California and Western Arizona. The distribution border of the family in the southern hemisphere passes through the Juan Fernandez Islands - Robinson Crusoe Island (Juania australis) and the 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 sea coasts and mangroves to high mountain slopes, from swamps and wetland forests to savannas and hot desert oases, in lowland and montane rain forests 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, near groundwater outlets, in lowlands periodically flooded after heavy rains or flooded with tides, in swamps, where they often form vast, almost pure thickets. Most palms grow in humid, hot lowlands, and in the mountains they usually grow at low or medium altitudes, but some grow high in the mountains. Among the latter is the genus Ceroxylon, or wax palm (Ceroxylon), which is found in the Andes of South America in the fog belt. Thus, Ceroxylon quindiuense (C. quindiuense) was found in Colombia at an altitude of almost 3000 m, and Ceroxylon useful (C. utile) rises to an altitude of 4100 m above sea level on the Chiles volcano, occurring near the border of eternal snow. Some palms, such as the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) or the Thrinax and Pseudophoenix species in the Caribbean, are permanent inhabitants of sea coasts. They are resistant to hurricane winds, salty sea spray, and seawater flooding, at least for a short period of time. Palms often grow in swampy coastal forests and swamps, along the inner edges of mangroves, in estuaries and on low, tidal river banks. Washingtonia species, 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 places where there is a source of water - a spring, stream or not a 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 dry air, lack of precipitation and even sultry winds common in deserts - for cultivation of date palm. However, 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.” The date palm can tolerate relatively low temperatures. It grows in areas where the absolute minimum temperature almost every year is -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 shifting sands of the Sahara and the Arabian desert, and on the extremely heavy clays of the Iraqi interfluve, and on the rocky soils of Southern Iran. Its tolerance to soil salinity is especially striking. It sometimes grows on salt marshes, where in the summer the soil is completely covered with white efflorescence of salt.

Palms are the main components of palm savannas in tropical Africa (for example, the Deleb palm, or Ethiopian borassus - Borassus aethiopum and Hyphaene species) and in tropical America (Sabal species, Copernicia - Copernicia, etc.). The scorching heat and winds dry out the soil so much that few plants are able to survive. Palm trees can withstand both prolonged flooding and a long dry season without visible damage. Palms that live in savannas, as well as in dry pine forests (for example, saw palmetto - Serenoa repens), are surprisingly resistant to fires due to the lack of cambium. The non-shedding leaf bases at the bottom of the stem of carnauba (Copernicia prunifera) form a layer that protects the plant from fire damage and can also function as water storage tissue. In a number of palm trees, for example Borassus, the seedling burrows into the ground due to the strong elongation of the cotyledon.

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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-shaped or pinnate leaves at the top. There are several growth forms of palm trees. While maintaining the unity of the structure plan, the appearance of palm trees is unusually diverse. Their stems can be inclined or climbing, creeping and underground or spread out on the surface of the earth. Along with the most common tree-like forms, there are lianas, as well as shrub-like and so-called “stemless” palms, in which the above-ground 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 trunk-like lignified stem), like species of Washingtonia or Corypha, striking with their majestic appearance and exceptional correctness of proportions. Their height can reach (60 m, like the wax palm Ceroxylon Quindio, and their diameter can be almost 1 m, like the Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis), which is also called elephant palm for its size (Table 57, 4). Other low-growing palms with bamboo or reed-like thin stems and elongated internodes, they resemble miniature trees or shrubs. Dwarf palms are no more than half a meter tall and as thick as a pencil (some species of Reinhardtia are from tropical America), and the tiny palm iguanura (Iguanura palmuncula) is from the island of Kalimantan. and dwarf syagrus (Syagrus lilliputiana) - a true treasure of the Paraguayan flora - do not exceed 10 cm in height, resembling more grass; they form a striking contrast with the majestic “princes of the plant world,” as Carl Linnaeus called palms.

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The Egyptian doom palm, or the Theban hyphaene (Hyphaene thebaica) and some other species of the Indo-African genus Hyphaene have an unusual appearance for palm trees: 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 Jubaeopsis caffra, the mazar palm and the mangrove palm (Nypa fruticans). In the palm family, the dichotomy is obviously secondary. Non-dichotomous branching of creeping shoots is common in the American Serenoa palm. Isolated cases of branching in Chrysalidocarpus lutescens and some other palms are probably associated with damage to the apical bud. A number of large palm trees have bottle-shaped or barrel-shaped swollen trunks. An example is the endemics of the Mascarene Islands, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, table 50, 2, H. amaricaulis) and the famous barrigona (Colpothrinax wrightii), growing in the sandy savannas of Western Cuba and the island of Juventud (table 53, 1). Its trunk in the middle part is barrel-shaped, and when looking at it, a comparison with an anaconda that has swallowed its prey involuntarily suggests itself. 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 entirely clear. The stem of Pseudophoenix 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 its stems in years unfavorable for palm growth, resulting in its trunk resembling an hourglass. The swollen Iriartea (Iriartea ventricosa), the bare-rooted Socratea (Socratea exorrhiza, Fig. 242) and some other palms - inhabitants of swamps, flooded lowlands and mountain forests of the fog belt of tropical America - have a peculiar appearance. The stems of these plants are equipped with stilted roots up to 2.5 m high, studded with prickly thorns - modified lateral roots. In the early stages of development, the internodes of the stems of these palms quickly elongate, forming an unstable obconical 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 tree rests on these roots, like on stilts. Many palms have a shrub growth habit due to the formation of numerous stems from axillary buds at the base of the stem or on underground side shoots - stolons or rhizomes. In the first case, a compact bunch of stems appears, in the latter, the stems appear at some distance from the plant, forming thickets (Fig. 231).

Species of the American genus sabal, Rhopalostylis sapida, endemic to New Zealand, and some palms from the subfamily Coconut have an underground stem that first grows obliquely down into the ground (to a depth of 1 - 1.5 m in Attalea funifera ), and then, suddenly changing direction, bends upward (taking the shape of a saxophone), rises to the surface of the earth and forms an aboveground stem in tree-like forms, like that of Sabal palmetto, sometimes very shortened, like that of small Sabal (Fig. 233 ), sometimes strongly curved and even twisted into a spiral, often S-shaped, with rope-like roots below. When fires destroy vegetation during dry seasons, the underground stems of attalea and some other palms remain intact and soon produce new leaves. In the American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera), the old part of the trunk lies down, it is spread out on the surface of the ground and covered along its 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 section of the stem dies and rots, the palm tree almost imperceptibly moves away from the place where it was planted - “walks,” local residents say.

Among the palm trees there are climbing vines that reach the tops of trees in the tropical rain forest (Table 56, 1). Their thin flexible stems with very long (sometimes almost 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 surrounding trees or bushes, hanging between them in festoons. Climbing palms are found in all tropical areas. This growth form arose independently in different groups of palms - in the New and Old Worlds. Old World rattan or climbing palms, the most important of which are two large genera, Calamus and Daemonorops, are found in the tropical forests of Asia, Australasia and Africa, but are especially diverse in the rain forests of Southeast Asia. Species of the genus Calamus are the largest and most specialized vines, forming dense, impenetrable thickets.

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

The stems of palm trees are smooth, with ring scars from fallen leaves, like the Cuban royal palm (Roystonea regia), or covered with a layer of remains of leaf sheaths and petioles, sometimes spiny, like the American palms Acrocomia and Bactris. The thin stems of Astrocaryum 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 thorns. Straight or curved thorns on the stems of the Mexican dwarf cryosophila (Cryosophila nana), protecting the plant from being eaten by animals, are nothing more than modified adventitious roots with pointed hard root caps. Regular roots sometimes form at the bottom of the stem. Root thorns also cover the trunks of the Amazon palm trees Mauritia aculeata and M. armata. The widened base of the stem, characteristic of many palms, serves as a solid foundation for a tall and powerful “column”. Numerous rope-like adventitious roots extend from it. The primary root dies early and is replaced by adventitious roots that appear at the lower internodes of the stems throughout the life of the palm tree. These roots are devoid of root spikelets; sometimes palm trees have mycorrhiza (coconut palm, peach palm - Bactris gasipaes - etc.). The stems of palm trees, always woody and perennial, are composed of a crustal layer and numerous vascular bundles and fibers scattered in the main parenchyma. The fibers are stiff, 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 gives stability to the trunk, although palms, due to the lack of cambium, do not form real wood, like our ordinary dicotyledonous and coniferous trees. The design of the palm meets the best examples of engineering and construction art. The stem of a palm tree achieves considerable thickness as a result of primary growth occurring just below the apical meristem, located in the center of a small cup- or saucer-shaped depression at the tip of the stem. The apical bud of a palm tree (figuratively called “palm cabbage” or “palm heart”) - a creamy, juicy, curly mass of young leaves - resembles cabbage in appearance. It is hidden deeply in the canopy and protected from forest herbivores by the bases of the leaves, which are usually thick, rough, sharp-edged, or thorny. The stems of palm trees sometimes thicken (as, for example, in the royal palm) due to the division and elongation of the main parenchyma cells and fibers that surround the vascular bundles. This growth is called diffuse secondary growth or sometimes “continuous primary growth” (J. T. Whathouse and C. J. Queeny, 1978).

The leaves of palm trees are alternate, usually clearly divided into petiole and blade. The lower part of the petiole is expanded into a sheath, partially or completely enveloping the stem. The petioles are usually long, but may be very short or even absent. The leaf blades of palm trees are extremely varied in size, shape and dissection. Their size ranges from a few centimeters (12.5 cm in the Guatemalan Chamaedorea tuerckheimii) to the largest in the plant world: in the royal raffia (Raphia regalis), their total length with petiole is over 25 m. The famous “shadow palm” is the corypha umbrella-bearing or talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) - has fan-shaped 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 shelter 15-20 people from the rain. The leaf blade of palm trees is complex, folded, fan-shaped or pinnate, while that of Caryota is double-pinnate; less often, the plate is entire, not dissected into segments, palmate-nervous or peristonervous and often bilobed at the apex (Fig. 232). The whole leaves of the American palm tree (Manicaria saccifera), 9 - 10 m long and 1.5 - 2 m wide, jagged along the edge, are broken irregularly by the wind, like a banana. In fan leaves, the rachis (shaft) is greatly shortened. The plates are usually dissected into linear or lanceolate segments to varying depths, sometimes almost to the base. The leaves of some species of the Malesian genus Licuala are 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 the blade and extends for some distance, sometimes almost to the very top, forming the median crest of the leaf and bending its blade. It gives large leaves greater strength. Such leaves constitute the transition from typical fan-shaped to pinnate. Many fan and comb-fan palms have a triangular protrusion similar to a tongue at the top of the petiole at the point of its connection 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 gastula reaches significant sizes.

The presence of a median ridge, or powerful midrib, is a characteristic feature of the palm leaf. Fan leaf segments and pinnate leaf feathers have a prominent midrib or multiple veins and have numerous and finer 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 tip 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 (grooved), that is, induplicate, or folded upward with a noticeable vein below at the point of attachment to the rachis; the plate ends in an unpaired apical segment or feather. In other palms, the segments and feathers in cross section are Λ-shaped (roof-shaped), that is, reduplicated, 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 pinnate and fan leaves are initiated as whole leaves, and all parts of the leaf develop from the original whole tissue. The leaves of palm trees are leathery and hard. They are covered with a thick layer of cuticle, often with a waxy coating, which in some palm trees reaches considerable thickness. Many palms have a covering of tiny scales or hairs that may disappear with age. The leaf blade is mostly smooth, but some spiny palms have spines on the rachis and feathers. There is also great diversity in the structure of the base of palm leaves. Many palms have long, closed, tubular vaginas. They are often not expressed in adulthood, although in the early stages of development they form closed tubes encircling the stem.

Since palm trees do not have specialized integumentary tissue similar to the bark of dicotyledonous plants, the remains of leaves preserved in many palm trees can 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, side-flowering inflorescences. In most cases, these are panicles with spike-shaped, catkin-shaped or fleshy thickened and cob-shaped branches. The inflorescences, like the stems and leaves of palm trees, often reach significant sizes. The giant apical inflorescence of the “shadow palm” - Corypha umbellata - is one of the largest in the plant world, reaching a length of 6 - 9 m. The female flowers of Phytelephas macrocarpa, mangrove palm, and oil palm form heads. Less commonly, the inflorescences are unbranched and spike-shaped (as in species of Licuala or 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 arrangement of the inflorescence in species of Calamus and related genera: in them the inflorescence grows to the sheath above the underlying leaf.

Most palms are polycarpic; They form lateral inflorescences in ascending sequence over many years of life. But in relatively few palm trees, inflorescences appear at the top of the stem only once in life 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 torch raffia - Raphia taedigera) are limited to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World. It is curious that the generally monocarpic genus Metroxylon includes one polycarpic species, M. amicarum, and Daemonorops calicarra is the only monocarpic representative of the largest genus of rattan palms. Perhaps the most striking example of a monocarpic palm is Corypha umbellata, growing in South India and on the island of Sri Lanka (Table 53, 5, 4). This majestic palm bears a crown of large fan-shaped leaves. In the 40th to 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 the central part of the trunk in huge quantities, necessary for the only reproductive explosion in the life of the palm tree. On the island of Sri Lanka, many specimens of this palm bloom at the same time.

Similar group flowering is also observed in the giant Malayan mountain rattan (Plectocomia griffithii).

The peduncle of palm trees bears a basal two-keeled preleaf (prophyll) and usually from one to several covering leaves, which enclose the young inflorescence and during flowering are longitudinally split or torn. They are called sterile covering leaves because they are not associated with the floral axes, in contrast to the fertile ones, covering the branches of the inflorescence at the base and the terminal axes bearing flowers. The covering leaves are tubular or scaphoid, leathery, membranous, fibrous or sometimes even woody, smooth or woolly, sometimes spiny. They fall off when the inflorescence opens or remain on the peduncle (sometimes long after the fruit has formed). Their number varies in different groups of palms.

Palm flowers are small and inconspicuous (a rare exception is the large, 7-10 cm long, female flowers of the phytelephas and Seychelles palm (Lodoicea maldivica, or L. sechellarum). They are usually sessile, sometimes even embedded in the fleshy axis of the inflorescence, rarely on short pedicels. Flowers are sometimes bisexual, but much more often unisexual; in the latter case, male and female flowers are similar or noticeably dimorphic, as in Borassus and Geonoma. Plants are usually monoecious, less often dioecious (for example, date palm, Phitelephas species and chamedorea). female flowers are located in the same inflorescence, but are placed, as a rule, in different parts of the axis, as in the coconut palm, or are collected in independent male and female inflorescences, sometimes in male and bisexual. Palm flowers are actinomorphic, less often weakly zygomorphic. 2 circles, or rarely spiral, or single-row and irregularly lobed, or rudimentary, and sometimes completely absent (in male flowers of the phytelephas, the perianth segments are free or fused, membranous, white, yellow, orange or red). The sepals and petals of the least specialized palms are similar, but much more often the sepals are smaller than the petals. There are usually 3 sepals, rarely 2 or 3 - 7 or more (in female flowers of phytelephas); they are free and imbricated or fused. The petals are usually the same number as the sepals, free or fused, usually valvate in male flowers (rarely fused with free lobes) and imbricate in female and bisexual flowers, sometimes with short valved apices or rarely valved. There are usually 6 stamens located in 2 circles, rarely there are 3 (Wallichia triandra, mangrove palm, Areca triandra) or much more than 6, but usually their number is a multiple of 3. In some specialized palms, for example, in palandra (Palandra), from 120 to 950 - the largest number of stamens known in palm trees; they develop centrifugally. Polyandry (myostamenity) arose independently in different groups of palm trees. The filaments of the stamens are straight or curved at the apex in the bud, free or variably fused with each other or fused to the petals, or simultaneously fused and fused. Anthers attached at the base or dorsum, rarely double or with divided pollen nests, straight or rarely curled; they are opened by 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-rayed. Nipa pollen, ring-furrowed and spiny, differs from the pollen of all other palms. Female flowers of palm trees often have staminodes - in the form of teeth, awl-shaped or equipped with rudimentary anthers, free or sometimes fused into a cupule or tube with a lobed or jagged apex and sometimes adherent to the petals. The gynoecium in the most primitive palms is apocarpous, from 1 - 3 (usually 3) carpels, but in most genera it is syncarpous, usually from 3 partially or completely fused carpels, sometimes from 3 - 7 or 7 - 10; sometimes the gynoecium is pseudomonomeric with 2 reduced and 1 fertile socket and 1 ovule (as in areca - Areca and many related genera). Most palms have septal nectaries located on the septa of the ovary. In some palms they are small and, due to their position in the basal part of the ovary, are considered less specialized in this family (for example, in sabal, Livistona or corypha). In pseudophoenix, the septate nectary, located at the base of the carpels, opens outwards with pores opposite each petal. Other palms have nectaries with long canals that open with pores on the upper surface of the gynoecium (Arenga, Latania) or between the carpels at the base of the stigmas (Butia, Ptychosperma macarthurii). Trachycarpus has a rudimentary nectar spot on the sides of three free carpels facing the center of the flower. Chamaerops humilis has a rudimentary nectary on the upper surface of the cup formed by the fused, widened and thickened bases of the staminate filaments in the male flower. The columns are free or fused, long or short and thickened or inconspicuous. The stigmas are straight or bent, sometimes elongated, rarely indistinguishable, in the form of a slit on the carpel or double-combed. There is usually 1 ovule in each carpel or ovary socket (rarely with 1 or 2 additional ovules - in nipa). When the fruit ripens, 2 out of 3 carpels are often underdeveloped. Ovules are anatropic, hemitropic, campylotropic or orthotropic. The vestigial gynoecium is sometimes absent in male flowers.

Palm carpels exhibit many of the features of primitive carpels of flowering plants. They are often leaf-shaped, may be stalked, and are usually conduplicate, often with open ventral sutures and laminal or sublaminal placentation. In Trachycarpus fortunea, trichomes develop along and to some extent within the open ventral suture, as in some primitive dicotyledonous plants. Stigmas sessile or almost sessile. The genus Nipa differs from other palm trees in its peculiar asymmetrical cup-shaped carpel with a funnel-shaped stigmatic opening, the wide inner surface of which unfolds and bends back during flowering. The combination of bisexual flowers and apocarpy is found only in primitive genera belonging to the subfamily Coryphaceae. Apocarpy is also characteristic of the date palm and nipa. Along with the archaic structural features of the gynoecium inherent in some palm trees, many signs of high specialization can be observed in other representatives.

Palm trees are cross-pollinated plants that have various adaptations that prevent self-pollination. The most reliable of them is dioecy, which is known in relatively few palm trees. In monoecious palm trees, male and female flowers in the inflorescence mature at different times, as a result of which the plant is either in the male or female flowering phase. These phases are sharply delimited in time and, as a rule, do not overlap. The exception is palm trees, in which several inflorescences develop in the leaf axil (like arenga) and male and female flowers can be opened simultaneously in different nodes of the stem, as well as bushy palms, in which asynchronous opening of flowers on different stems is possible. Dichogamy manifests itself in palm trees in the form of both protandry and sometimes protogyny. Protandry 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. 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, often after several days or even weeks, do the female flowers open. Flowers arranged in vertical rows bloom in a basipetal sequence: the top flower falls off before the next one blooms. This type of flower blooming in palm trees provides the plant with pollen for a longer period of time. Protogyny is much less common and is known, for example, in pipa, sabal palmetto and some beetle-pollinated palms.

Most palms appear to be pollinated by insects. Although palm flowers are small and, despite sometimes brightly colored perianths, usually inconspicuous, they are collected in large inflorescences that stand out noticeably against the background of dark green foliage. The flowers of many palm trees, such as Clhamaedorea fragrans from the Peruvian Andes, are very fragrant. Sometimes palm pollen (like Acrocomia) has a characteristic odor or is brightly colored (like nipa). Bees, flies, hoverflies, fruit flies, beetles, thrips, moths, ants and other insects visit flowers for nectar, pollen, succulent floral tissue, or use the flower as a site for reproduction, oviposition and larval development. Palm flowers typically support a variety of insects, although not all of them are effective pollinators. Some palm trees are pollinated by beetles, which feed on pollen and flower tissue. Various species of beetles carry out pollination, especially weevils (Curculionidae). Palm trees pollinated by beetles are, as a rule, protohyenical and produce a large amount of pollen, but their flowers are devoid of nectar. Weevils pollinate the flowers of two species of Bactris in Costa Rica (Bactris major and B. guineensis), spiny palms from the coconut subfamily. Like nipa, they are protogynous, and flowering begins with the opening of female flowers in the afternoon, which remain receptive for 12 hours. Male flowers open 24 hours later than females and emit a musky odor, attracting beetles, which eat their large, thick petals. When the male flowers open and lose their pollen, the beetles, laden with this pollen, move towards the newly opened inflorescences with receptive female flowers, pollinating them. The abundant pollen of male flowers also feeds on bees (Nitidulidae), and fruit flies feed on the tissues of flowers. 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 can concentrate energy on their main function - the formation of fruits and seeds.

The pollination mechanism of Hydriastele microspadix from New Guinea is surprisingly similar to that 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 the flowers of Rhapidophyllum hystrix, a low, shrubby palm called porcupine because of the numerous long (15–20 cm) sharp black needles on its leaf sheaths. This palm 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 are never protruded even when the fruits ripen. Male and to a lesser extent female flowers emit a musky odor. There is evidence of beetles pollinating the flowers of a number of other palm trees. The beetles are found in the closed male inflorescences of Ammandra, and the production of heat by the flowers of Phitelephas, a phenomenon often associated with beetle pollination, is suggestive of canthaphily in this genus. The milky white flowers of Johannesteijsmannia altifrons on the pale yellow velvety branches of the inflorescence, partially hidden in the 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. The flowers contain many beetles (adults and larvae), rove beetles, as well as fly larvae, thrips, ants, termites, and beetles. In Ceratolobus, one of the most remarkable dioecious genera of rattan palms in the humid regions of Malesia, the inflorescence is enclosed within a single covering leaf, which is opened by two tiny lateral slits at the apex. Numerous insects penetrate through them, attracted by the musty smell of the flowers. Beetles, thrips and ants are abundant in the inflorescences of C. glaucescens, an endangered species whose only small population is found in West Java. The latter quickly populate the inflorescences and the entire plant. They are attracted to nectar. In species with pendulous inflorescences, pollen accumulates in abundance near the openings through which insects penetrate or escape from the inflorescence. Ceratolobus flowers are closed to larger arthropod visitors, which cannot penetrate through small cracks. A “filter for pollinators” is also found in the American palm Manicaria sacifera, the inflorescence of which is enclosed inside a sac-like covering leaf with tiny holes between the fibers (Fig. 243).

However, among palm trees there are also many wind-pollinated plants. A classic example is the date palm. Under natural conditions, about half of the population of this dioecious plant is male. A single covering leaf covers the entire inflorescence. Male and female flowers bloom immediately after the inflorescence is released from the covering leaf. Female flowers are apparently susceptible for 1 or 2 days. In cultivation, to obtain a sustainable harvest, the date palm is pollinated artificially by tying cut branches of the male inflorescence to the top of the female. One male specimen is enough to pollinate 100 female specimens. Artificial pollination was first used 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, produced in huge 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, Hamerops squat. In 1707, Joseph Kölreuther, whose name is associated with the doctrine of sex in plants, sent Hamerops 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 during the reign of 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 bore abundant fruit.

The reduction of the perianth in Thrinax, a primitive genus with bisexual flowers with an apocarpous gynoecium, is undoubtedly associated with wind pollination (Fig. 235). The covering leaves are relatively thin, and the inflorescence opens quickly. Particularly remarkable is the rapid elongation of the branches of the inflorescence, which grow 15–20 cm in length in 10 hours before the anthers open. The flowers are protandric. In Trinax parviflora, the 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-carpel gynoecium are tightly pressed against each other, which reduces the possibility of self-pollination. The stigmas move apart 24 hours after the anthers open. The funnel-shaped canal of the carpel is open distally. Trinax was found to have pollen grains on the ovule in the nest, which is unusual for flowering plants. The open channel of the style apparently represents a direct entrance for wind-blown pollen. Self-pollination occurs frequently and successfully, as indicated by abundant fruit set on isolated specimens.

Until now, botanists have no consensus regarding the pollination of the coconut palm, one of the most studied palm trees. This plant is apparently pollinated by both insects and wind. The small male flowers open first around 6 a.m. and fall off at noon. Female flowers are receptive within a few days. The female flowering phase lasts 4 - 7 days. In addition, coconut palm flowers are also visited by birds - sunbirds and parrots, which feed on pollen. In the dwarf variety of this palm on the Malay Peninsula, male and female flowers usually open simultaneously, and self-pollination predominates here. In Butia leiospatha, an inhabitant of the Cerrados of Brazil, like the coconut palm, wind pollination is combined with insect pollination. Its flowers are visited by wasps and flies, and weevils and shiners grow in the inflorescences. They use closed inflorescences and young fruits as a site for oviposition.

Some palm trees are also known to self-pollinate. The bisexual flowers of 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. In the rattan palm Daemonorops kunstleri, most of the fruits and seeds are apparently formed parthenogenetically.

Palm fruits are extremely diverse. Their size ranges from a few millimeters to half a meter for the Seychelles palm tree, the fruits of which are among the largest in the plant world. Nipa, phytelephas and oil palm have fruits collected in large compact heads. The fruits are usually 1-seeded, but sometimes 2, 3 - 10-seeded. They are a dry or fleshy syncarpous drupe with an endocarp attached to the seed or free, less often berry-like fruits (dates can serve as an example). At the base, the fruits are often surrounded by expanding and hardening perianth. The vast majority of palm trees have indehiscent fruits. Only in a few species, when ripe, do they split at the apex (Microcoelum, Lytocaryum, Socratea salazarii), and in Astrocaryum species they open completely, sometimes exposing brightly colored flesh.

The mesocarp of the fruit is juicy, sometimes with abundant needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate, and is often oily, juicy, stringy or dry. The endocarp enclosing the seed is thin, cartilaginous or membranous, sometimes with a cap above the embryo (as in Clinostigma), or thick, horn-like or bony, then often with 3 or rarely more seedling pores (as in the coconut palm and other related plants). childbirth). 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, opposite the ovule of the fertile carpel, functions. The endocarp is sometimes equipped with longitudinal ribs, and in the Seychelles palm it is deeply 2-, sometimes 3-, 4- and even 6-lobed. Palm seeds vary widely in size and shape. Their size ranges from just a few millimeters to the largest sizes in the plant world - 30 or 45 cm for the Seychelles palm. The seed coat is thin, smooth or fleshy (like that of 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 types of palm trees it is a source of plant “ivory” (phytelephas large-fruited, hyphaene swollen - Hyphaene ventricosa, etc.). The endosperm contains large amounts of oil and protein. The embryo is small, cylindrical or conical. Polyembryony has been observed in several palm species.

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 sprouting coconuts hanging from the posts of huts. The embryo receives water and nutrients from the endosperm. The roots of the seedling, growing in the fibrous mesocarp, are able to absorb rainwater seeping through the skin. However, a succulent pericarp (for example, in Livistona) inhibits or prevents seed germination. During storage, seeds usually quickly lose their viability. They should be sown soon 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 likely essential for survival in the dry conditions of the sands and porous limestone of the Caribbean region. Palm seeds germinate underground, with the exception of nipa, in which the seeds germinate on plants or in floating fruits. The cotyledon never opens as a green photosynthetic organ, since its apex remains immersed in the endosperm of the seed and is modified into a sucking organ - the haustorium. It dissolves and absorbs nutrients from the endosperm to support 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 have adaptive significance for palm trees growing in savannas. The penetration of the cotyledons into the soil in different types of palm trees occurs to different depths, which is largely determined by living conditions. Going deeper into the soil, the lower part of the cotyledon grows in the form of a tubular vagina 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 haustorium. In the date palm, trachycarpus, and corypha, the lower part of the cotyledon grows underground in the form of a long tubular vagina, and a shoot emerges from the cotyledonous slit formed in its upper part. In sabal, Washingtonia, Jubaea, the cotyledon in the lower part is expanded in the form of a much shorter tubular vagina, which forms a tongue in the upper part. In Archontophoenix, coconut palm and some other palms, the cotyledon is elongated only enough to carry the embryo out of the endocarp. The lower part of the cotyledon immediately after emerging from the seed grows outwards in the form of a bell, forming a tongue. An embryo begins to sprout from the base of the cotyledon, parts of which are closely adjacent to the haustorium.

The fruits of many palm trees, 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 the fruits whole, throwing out intact seeds near palm trees or, more often, carrying them over a certain distance. Some birds, particularly pigeons, apparently played a large role in the spread of a number of palms. So, thanks to them, and also, apparently, to ocean currents, Pritchardia penetrated the Hawaiian Islands. Birds apparently carried the seeds of the royal Haitian palm (Roystonea hispaniolana) to the island of Little Inagua (Bahamas), where palm trees growing at the bottom of several large sinkholes were recently discovered. The list of palm trees whose fruits birds feed on is quite large. In Java, carnivorous mammals feed on the fruits of the caryota - jackals, Malayan palm marten and civets. Palm civets and wild pigs feed on the fruits of the sugar palm (Arenga pinnata), and black-handed and pygmy gibbons eat the ripe fruits of Arenga obtusifolia in Indonesia. Gibbons also eat the fruits of rattan palms - calamus and demonorops. Baboons eat the fruits of the Egyptian doom palm. IN Ancient Egypt Thoth - the god of wisdom, patron of sciences - was revered in the form of an ibis or baboon, and since baboons often feed on the fruits of the dum palm, it became the sacred tree of Thoth. Images of baboons on palm trees are found on paintings covering the walls of ancient tombs. Monkeys are attracted to the fruits of the Robelen date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) in Laos, the American palms Manicaria maripa and Maximiliana maripa, and the African oil palm.

Bats play an important role in the distribution of the fruits of some palm trees, which, like birds, can distribute seeds over long distances. Large (15 - 20 cm in diameter) drupes of the deleb palm, or Ethiopian borassus, are the favorite food of the African elephant. It is to him that the palm tree owes its spread throughout tropical Africa. The elephant eats the fruits, and the endocarp with the seeds enclosed in them is thrown out intact along with excrement. However, the presence of the genus in Madagascar, New Guinea and perhaps even in Australia, where there are no elephants, according to Harold Moore (1973), excludes the assumption of the conjugate evolution of elephants and Borassus, as well as the closely related small genus Borassodendron. The African strata also feeds on the smaller fruits of the Hyphaena swollen, which grows in the hot, dry valleys of southern Zambia, and the African wild date palm (Phoenix reclinata). Palm fruits that fall to the ground are eaten by tapirs, deer, fallow deer, peccaries, goats, and cattle. Coyotes and gray foxes feed on the fruits of Washingtonia filamentosa. Squirrels and numerous rodents (paka, mice, rats) also take part in the distribution of fruits and seeds. They often drag fruits into nests or put them somewhere in reserve, while some of the seeds are lost along the way or remain unused for some reason. In Brazil, rodents bury the fruits of Attalea funifera and Orbignya barbosiana in underground burrows, where their germination is stimulated high temperature due to annual savannah fires. The aromatic fruit pulp and seeds with a juicy peel of Salacca edulis, an almost stemless, very spiny palm on the islands of the Malay Archipelago, attract not only rodents and birds, but also monitor lizards and turtles. The fruits of Astrocaryum vulgare serve as food for fish; fish also eat the fruits of Geonoma schottiana in South America.

Despite the abundant fruiting of palm trees, their fruits and seeds are often predated by beetles and other insects, tree mice and rats, pigs and crabs. There is a close biological relationship between the coconut palm and a huge crab called the palm thief (Birgus latro). It feeds on the pulp of unripe coconuts: tearing the fibers, using powerful claws it makes a hole in the area of ​​the “soft” eye, pulling out the pulp, sometimes breaking the endocarp by hitting the stones. The crab not only destroys fruits that have fallen to the ground, but, as is known, 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. Chemical testing of its fat showed that it resembled coconut oil, having little in common with animal fat. This crab also feeds on the small, juicy fruits of another palm tree, Arenga listeri, endemic to Christmas Island.

Sea currents, rivers and streams, and storm flows play a large role in the distribution of seeds and fruits of a number of palm trees. Water promotes the spread of species that inhabit river banks, such as Mauritia fiexuosa, and many other palm trees, found in abundance on the banks of the “palm” river of the Amazon, Orinoco and their tributaries, as well as inhabitants of swamps and swampy forests (like raffia and methoxylon). 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 are carried by sea currents. Sometimes the fruits become buoyant only when they dry out, as in Pseudophoenix sargentii, or when the seeds are destroyed. The fruits of Manicaria saccifera have high buoyancy. When they fall, they are buried in detritus or carried by rivers far into the sea, but they cannot withstand a long stay in salt water and are soon destroyed. Fruits with rotten or dry seeds can be carried by currents. They are found in large numbers on the beaches of the West Indian islands, on the Turke Islands (the southeastern tip of the Bahamas) and even on the west coast of Scotland. Of the seeds that reached the Terke Islands, no more than 1 - 2% retain the ability to germinate.

Humans played a major role in the spread of many palm trees, especially such vital ones as coconut, oil, date, sugar, etc.

The classification of palm trees 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 palm trees into 9 subfamilies: Coryphoideae, Phoenix (Phoenicoideae), Borassoideae, Caryotoideae, Nypoideae, Lepidocaryoideae, Arecoideae, Cocosoideae and Phytelephantoideae. With the exception of the largest and most heterogeneous subfamily, Arecaceae, which will obviously be dissected later, they are all natural, clearly distinguishable groups of palms. American palmologist Harold Moore (1973) divided the family into 15 large groups (without indicating their taxonomic rank), representing 5 evolutionary lines 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.

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Palmaceae, or Palm trees, or Arecaceae (lat. Arecáceae, Pálmae, Palmáceae) - a family of monocotyledonous plants.

It is represented mostly by woody plants with unbranched trunks, in which primary thickening occurs (that is, thickening due to the activity of the protoderm and the main meristem). There are also a number of species that are characterized by thin creeping or climbing shoots (for example, representatives of the genus Calamus). The family includes 185 genera and about 3,400 species.

Palm- tree-legend. The peoples of many countries worshiped palm trees, considering them sacred plants. More than a thousand years ago, the Greeks sent messengers with a palm branch to Hellas to notify them of their victory. In a figurative sense, this is a symbol of peace, because it is not without reason that the white dove of peace holds a palm branch in its beak. In the same Greece, an athlete who won a competition was awarded a palm branch. This is where the expression “palm of the championship” in something came from.

In its homeland, liviston leaves are used to weave baskets, mats, hats, sandals and other household items. Leaf segments have long been used as writing paper, and many ancient manuscripts are written on them.

Not so long ago, the Fox Tail palm became famous in the world. The owner of one of the Australian plant nurseries was told that in the wilderness in the northeast of the continent grow the most beautiful palm trees in the world, which have no equal. One of the Aborigines showed the nursery owner this place near the city of Queensland, where spectacular palm trees grew with spectacular crown leaves resembling a fox's tail. The new palm quickly conquered the world, and only the massive commercial propagation of these palms stopped the wave of illegal collection of seeds from wild plants.

Chrysalidocarpus. Behind such a long name lies a poetic one - “Golden Butterfly”, which the plant received for the beautiful color of its fruits. 20 species of these palms can be seen in nature on Madagascar and the Comoros Islands.

Date palm. The name may be associated with the phoenix bird, reborn from the ashes. After all, a date is capable of producing offspring even from a dead trunk. About 17 species grow in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa.

Coconut palm. The name comes from the Greek trachys - hard, rough, rough and Karpos - fruit. There are 6 species, common in the Himalayas, China, and Japan.

Hamedorea. The bamboo palm got its name from the Greek Chamai, i.e. The fruits are easy to get, they hang low. There are 100 species known to grow in Central America.

Chamerops. Translated from Greek it means low bush. 1-2 species grow in the Mediterranean.

Hovea. It is also called the paradise palm and comes from the Lord Howe Islands in the Pacific Ocean, where both known species of this genus grow.

The coconut palm lives for about 100 years, producing up to 450 nuts annually. Coconuts are amazing fruits: they can float on the sea for a long time, and when they reach the shore, they can take root and germinate thousands of kilometers from their place of birth. That is why coconut palms are widespread along the coasts of tropical seas. The inhabitants of the Pacific coast have a custom of planting a coconut palm when a child is born in a family, whose health is then assessed by the condition of the growing tree.

Different countries give the palm tree its own symbolism, so in China the palm tree means dignity, fertility and retirement, in Arabia the palm tree is the tree of life. In Christianity, the palm tree characterizes the righteous, immortality, the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem, divine blessing, paradise, and the triumph of the martyr before death.

Separately, palm branches denote triumph and glory, victory over death, sin and resurrection. Early Catholicism associated the palm tree with burials and considers this plant a symbol of a person who has made a pilgrimage.

In Egypt, the palm tree is classified as a calendar tree, which puts out a new branch only once a month. In Greece, the palm tree is the emblem of Apollo of Delos and Delphi.

The scientific name of the coconut tree is 'Cocos nucifera'. The word 'cocos' probably comes from the Portuguese word 'coco' (monkey), as the coconut slightly resembles a monkey's face. The word 'nucifera' is derived from Latin roots and means 'nut bearer'. Coconut belongs to the palm family. Recognizable at first glance, the trunks, wide at the base, end in a huge crown of plume-shaped leaves. The trunk of the coconut palm is gray and smooth, its surface covered with ring cracks left by fallen leaves.

The growth of a coconut palm occurs in a very unique way, it all starts with fruits - coconuts, which, having fallen to the ground, begin to germinate. Thanks to the reserves of substances in the nut, the sprout that emerges from the nut begins to increase: first it becomes a rosette of small leaves, then they grow. During this period, the coconut does not have a trunk, only the leaves and bud of the palm tree grow; as soon as the bud reaches a certain size, the palm tree begins to grow in height. The formation of a coconut palm occurs in two stages - first the bud develops, then the trunk grows.

Before a coconut reaches a large size, and it can easily grow up to 25 meters, it remains young. Moreover, if you look at a young coconut tree, you will be surprised by its diameter, it is the same as that of an adult coconut. If you take the trunk of any other tree, you will see that a young tree has a trunk no thicker than a little finger, and when it grows, the base of the trunk increases greatly, and continues to grow throughout life - the thin stem turns into a thick trunk. In the coconut palm, the opposite is true, although at the base of the trunk of an adult tree there is also a thickening, but it serves exclusively for storing substances, it does not play any mechanical role - it is a storage of nutrients. At the age of five, a coconut is already capable of bearing fruit. If a coconut tree is not affected by disease or damaged by a cyclone, it can live up to a hundred years. By the rings on the trunk, which are located quite evenly, you can find out the age of the palm tree. Every year the palm tree produces the same number of leaves - this is a constant process and this is one of the reasons why the coconut tree does not tolerate periods of drought or rainy seasons very well - it is a tropical tree.

The branches of coconut palms reach a length of 4–6 meters. More or less curved, hard, emerald green permanent leaves without spines. The leaf crown has about 30 branches, the base of each almost completely covers the trunk and therefore the branches can resist strong winds. There are flowers in the axils of the branches. The coconut palm is self-pollinating, its female flowers located at the bottom of the spikelets have the shape of peas 2–3 cm in diameter, usually there are 20–30, but the number of peas can reach several hundred. Male flowers, more numerous, occupy the upper part of the spikelets. After pollination, the fruit appears. Coconut growth lasts from 4 to 10 months. The coconut palm bears its first fruits at the age of 5–6 years and reaches its maximum yield by 15 years. A mature palm tree can produce 50 to 500 coconuts per year. After 50 years, her productivity drops noticeably. The fruits can be collected green, picking them from palm trees, or picking up mature nuts that have fallen to the ground. It will take almost a whole year before the nut reaches full maturity.

Thanks to the structure of the nut, the coconut palm conquers large spaces. Consisting of fiber and very hard, the nut is able to float well, so if a coconut fallen from a palm tree ends up in the sea, it is easily carried away by sea currents. Sooner or later, the nut will end up on the shore and begin to sprout, so coconut palms are able to colonize entire beaches in all countries of the world. It is clear that in this way coconut palms cannot get into the mountains, and besides, they would hardly withstand a mountain climate; coconut palms do not survive where the average annual temperature is below 20 °C. If you see a coconut tree, then the average annual temperature in that place is above 20 °C. A coconut can germinate even after several months of floating; with a passing current, it can travel 5 thousand kilometers, but this alone cannot explain such a wide distribution of coconut palms on the planet. They were brought to some parts of the world by humans, such as the Wallis Islands in the South Pacific. They probably came to the Fiji Islands from Southeast Asia 2.5 thousand years BC, and a thousand years later to the islands of Tonga and Samoa. And then in the 4th century they settled in the Marquesas Islands, in the next century on Easter Island, and a hundred years later in Hawaii. Floating on waves or in holds, these nuts reached the west coast of Panama in Central America in the 14th century. Beginning in the 16th century, Portuguese and Spanish sailors introduced them to West Africa and North America. In the Caribbean, the first coconuts appeared in Puerto Rico in the early 17th century. Since that time, coconut palms began to spread throughout the Lesser and Greater Antilles.

The liquid contained in the unripe nuts is drunk as a soft drink. During World War II, this liquid was used as saline solution. But, you can drink coconut juice only at the first stage of coconut ripening, but you should not drink the juice at the last stage of ripening, otherwise you may get an upset stomach. Coconut is rich in potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and zinc. The nut has very high nutritional value. The pulp of the ripe nut is edible and is used in many tropical dishes due to its characteristic aroma. The dried pulp, which is 60% lipid, is called ‘copra’ and is used to make oil used in the preparation of margarine, soap and monoi, a scented oil. Craftsmen use absolutely everything - the trunk, nuts, branches of the coconut tree. Lanterns, drums, sculptures and a huge number of other interesting things - masters compete in ingenuity.

The coconut palm is widely used in Polynesia and is even used to build ships. Immigrants from Southeast Asia - the peoples who settled this area in Oceania 3.5 thousand years ago, crisscrossed all of Polynesia, delving further into the Pacific Ocean to land and populate the islands of the Polynesian Triangle. The people of Wallis retained the ability to build and sail long pirogues. The mast and sail, handmade using ancient techniques, are attached to boats made from the trunk of a coconut tree, which can reach a length of 10 meters.

The coconut palm is a very hardy plant, however, a long-standing disease native to Cayman Island palms is beginning to spread throughout the Caribbean. The disease begins with blackening of the fruits and inflorescences, then the palm branches turn yellow and fall off, leaving the trunk completely bare. This disease causes great damage wherever it appears, but the direction of its spread cannot be accurately predicted. It is probably carried by some insects, but so far the only way to combat it is to cut down diseased palm trees.

Widespread in all tropical latitudes of the planet, the coconut palm is found not only in the coastal strip, but also on the plains. For travelers it has become a symbol of an exotic holiday, but it occupies important place not only in this idyllic picture, but also in the daily life of the local population. People value the coconut tree for its milk and the pulp of its fruit. Its trunk and branches are used in a wide variety of ways - to create souvenirs, in construction and cosmetology. The coconut palm, like no other tree, is highly valued by people. From Southeast Asia to the Antilles, from Africa to the Pacific Islands, the coconut palm is not just a tree, it is a tree of life.

Palm trees are considered the most ancient plants that originally reproduced by seeds and pollen. Under natural conditions, they can reach up to 9 meters in height if growth is not artificially restrained. The size of a palm tree at home depends on care. The tallest palm tree in the world is the Wax Palm; its height can reach up to 50 meters. This tree is the main plant symbol of Colombia.

The name comes from the Latin word “palma”, which means “palm”. And this is not surprising, because the leaves of the plant really resemble splayed fingers on the palm of a person.

ON A NOTE! In Greece, an athlete who won a competition was awarded a palm branch. It was at this moment that the catchphrase “palm of championship” was born.

The flowering of an indoor palm tree is similar to the flowering of a calla lily. For example, yucca has large white flowers that look like bells. Basically, the palm tree blooms with small yellow or white flowers on a small cluster.

I would like to remind you that it was not nature that created indoor plants for us, but we are trying to grow them in the hope that they will take root at home. Palma is no exception. There are several types that will feel great at home:

1. Howey Forster.
2. Hamedorea.
3. Rapisa.

Appearance of the plant

On average, a palm tree lives about 150-200 years. For example, a coconut tree takes about 100 years to grow and produces about 450 nuts each year.

ON A NOTE! A coconut can travel thousands of kilometers through water, wash ashore, and germinate there.

There are 2 types of palm trees:

• With fan leaves. They diverge radially from the base. A prominent representative is the date palm.
• Cirrus. The leaves spread parallel to the sides from the vein in the center. A prominent representative is the bamboo palm.

Palms are perennial trees, less often shrubs, most of which have a non-branching trunk, at the top of which a crown grows. They can also grow as vines with thin stems. In tropical and subtropical areas there are up to 1500.

Peculiarities

1. The trunk of a palm tree usually does not branch (an exception is the genus of doom palms). Its thickness is about a meter, and during life it does not thicken. Among the palm trees there are climbing vines, the stems of which are about 2-3 centimeters thick and up to 300 meters long.
2. The inflorescence of a palm tree is a spadix that is of impressive size and branches. Flowers are located on the branches, sometimes they are immersed in its tissue. All inflorescences are surrounded by a veil.
3. What fruits grow on a palm tree? They can be in the form of a nut or a bone or a berry. Ornamental palms produce fruits in the form of small round berries.

Exotic varieties

Let's talk about the types of exotic palm trees and how they bloom.

Decorative palm trees at home look very exotic.

The most common include:

• Brachea. Loves light, but grows best in partial shade. Can't do without spraying. Watering is moderate.
• Boothia. A palm tree whose leaves resemble feathers. Blooms in late spring.
• Washingtonia. Fan palm, pleasing the eye with white blossoms. Can reach a height of up to 18 meters.
• Giophorba. The young representative resembles a vase in appearance. It blooms with small flowers and has a pleasant scent.
• Hamedorea. It is considered the most unpretentious species and tolerates shade well. Blooms almost all year round.
• Kariota. The leaves of the plant look like a fish tail. It blooms once a year for 5-6 years.
• Liviston. The leaves look like an open fan and reach a height of up to 2 meters. Ideal for rooms.
• Rapis. It grows as a shrub. Very whimsical.
• Chamerops. Massive palm tree with a dense crown. Blooms from April to June.
• Yucca. A tree-like plant whose leaves are collected in bunches. The white flowers look like bells.
• Govea. An elegant plant reaching a height of up to 2.5 meters. Requires careful care.
• Date palm. The most common species, grows as a lush shrub.
• Sabal. A plant with fan-shaped leaves. The types of palm trees growing in the rooms are absolutely different from each other.
• Trachycarpus. It reaches a height of up to 2.5 meters and grows very slowly. Suitable for apartments.

Where is your homeland?

The plant has become widespread in many regions of the globe. They are more often found on the shores of tropical seas, high in the mountains and in humid forests. A huge number of species grow in Colombia and Madagascar. The fan palm is more common in Spain. The feathery representative can be seen more often in Greece.

Also, some species grow in the territory of the former Soviet Union, for example, on the southern coast of Crimea.

Photo

You can see what a flower in the form of an indoor palm tree looks like in the photo here.
Howea Forster

Hamedorea


Rapis


Brachea


Washingtonia


Giophorba


Kariota


Liviston


Hamerops


Yucca

Date palm


Sabal


Trachycarpus

Family

Most palm trees belong to the Palmaceae or Arecaceae family.

What kind of care does it require?

Growing an exotic plant at home is not so easy. It needs proper care:

1. It is recommended to place the pot with the plant on the south side of the house.
2. In summer, the temperature should range from 16 to 20 degrees Celsius.
3. In summer, be sure to moisturize the crown.
4. From early spring to late autumn palm tree, blooming house, needs abundant watering. Drying out the soil is unacceptable.
5. Green beauties love light very much, but they cannot be exposed to direct sunlight.
6. The plant is afraid of drafts.
7. The soil for growing should be light and flat.
8. Palm trees need regular feeding and fertilizer.

Reproduction

Hard enough.

Certain species can only be propagated by seed.

There are also plants whose reproduction is allowed by dividing the rhizome or by daughter shoots.

Seed propagation requires careful attention. Seedlings should grow with lower heating, the temperature being about 35 degrees. How long do they grow? The first shoots can be observed after a couple of months. The lifespan of a plant grown in this way is quite long.

Scientific name

The scientific name of the palm is AREGAGEAE.

Diseases and pests

A palm tree at home can encounter the following diseases:

• Root rot.
• Stem rot.
• Penicillosis.
• Spotting.

All problems that may occur with the foliage (brown tips, brown lower leaves, spotting) are associated with improper care.

Pests:

1. Shield.
2. Spider mite.
3. Mealybugs.

Most often, insecticides are used to control pests and diseases, or they try to use traditional methods.

INTERESTING TO KNOW! The palm tree is considered a legendary tree. The people of many countries still worship this plant.

Everyone loves such a magnificent tree as a palm tree. But growing it at home is quite difficult. So isn’t it better to go to warm beaches and admire the plant while relaxing?

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

Types of Palm Plants

Palm is a southern woody plant that grows exclusively in tropical and subtropical climates. The Palm family belongs to flowering plants and has about 185 genera and 3,400 species. There are especially many of these plants in the areas of Southeast Asia and 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 oases in the desert. However, most of all they prefer humid and shady areas with a tropical climate, forming continuous thickets. Palm trees are also widespread in African savannas, where they easily tolerate drought and hot winds.

Shapes and structural features of palm trees

Palm trees have a wide variety of growth forms:

• tree-like: Cuban, royal, corypha umbelliferous; Washingtonia filamentosa; barrigona, hyphene thebes (dum palm);
• shrub-like: lanceolate chamedorea, acelorapha;
• stemless: palmetto shrub, Wallich herring, saw palmetto;
• 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 upward, 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 fire-resistant;
• Thanks to its ability to re-sprout leaves from its own trunk, this plant is called a “phoenix tree.”

Among palm trees there are monoecious and dioecious plants; in the second option, there are male plants that pollinate the female ones, and accordingly, only the latter bear fruit. In nature, pollination occurs with the help of the wind, but in cultivated plantings people do it manually. Fruit ripening lasts about 200 days.

Fruits of palm trees

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. Flour, oil, alcoholic drinks are also made from them. industrial scale produces fibers that are used to make bags and other fabric products.

The most beneficial fruits for humans that grow on palm trees are dates and coconuts.

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

Many tasty and healthy ingredients 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 thanks to great content 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 local residents use almost all of its parts for food and making various products; the 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 blows to the head from such nuts. The weight of an average coconut is about 1-3 kg, so dropping it even on the roof of a car leaves a dent, and it is deadly for the head.

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

The outside of 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 were grown in Mesopotamia (in modern-day Iraq) starting in 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. Thus, the Arabs believe that every warrior can live in the desert for 3 days, eating 1 date, first eating the pulp, then the skin, and on the 3rd day, the ground pit. Regular consumption of these fruits reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and 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), about 300 thousand of which are planted here; dates are harvested here regularly.

Roystonea Palm

Royal Palm ( Roystonea) - has a chic appearance corresponding to its 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 there is a crown of huge feathery leaves up to 8 m long and 2 m wide. The plant is monoecious: male and female flowers are located on the same tree below the crown.

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

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

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

Bismarckia noblea

Family of 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 has an original appearance and color and is widely distributed on the island of Madagascar.

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

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

This palm tree can be successfully grown at home; it looks impressive in the interior and is easy to care for.

Decorative and indoor palm trees

Palm trees are perfect for lovers of exotic plants, since growing them at home does not present any difficulties in caring for them. In the countries of the European region and Russia, ornamental palm trees take root best in winter gardens and greenhouses, where a suitable microclimate can be created for them, because the plant is, after all, southern and heat-loving.

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

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

Caring for a palm tree in an apartment

The most important rule when growing ornamental palm trees at home is to create high humidity and proper lighting. If the air in the apartment is dry due to winter heating, the plants must be frequently sprayed 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, choosing a more spacious pot; older trees - less often. Plants and their roots are afraid of drafts, so it is not recommended to place the tubs on the windowsill or floor. Many types of palm trees do not tolerate direct sunlight, preferring bright and diffused lighting.

However, at home, all plants only bloom, and the rare fruits that set never ripen. This way you won’t be able to find out what’s growing on the 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.