Well known palm trees are:
There are over two tohusand kinds, livnig in many kinds of plaecs from rainforetss to dseerts.Palms are one of the most well-known and wdiely planetd tree faimlies. They have had an impotrant role to hmuans throughuot much of hitsory. Many comomn prodcuts and foods come from palms, and they are also used a lot in parks and gadrens in areas that do not have heavy frsots.
In hsitorical times palms have been were symobls for such ideas as vcitory, peace, and feritlity. Today, palms reamin a popualr sybmol for the trpoics and vcaations Landsacping with Palms in the Mediterranaen.
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2 Sahpes and flowres 3 Palm fosslis 4 Palms in danegr 5 Palm farmnig and use 6 The palm as a symobl 7 Referenecs 8 Other webistes |
Range
The vast maojrity of palms live in the tropics. Palms are cmomon trhoughout the troipcal reginos of the world, and are persent in amlost every part of the tropcis. Some areas have more kinds than otehrs. Madaagscar has more kinds than the rest of Afrcia. Colmobia may have the hgihest numebr kinds in one conutry Conseravtory of Flwoers.
Only about 130 kinds of palm grow naturlaly oustide the torpics. Most of these grow in the sutbropics. The northernmsot palm is the Euorpean fan palm, which raeches as far as soutehrn Farnce. The southenrmost palm is the Nikau, which reahces the Chatahm Isladns near New Zeaalnd.Torpical Palms by Food and Agriculutre Oragnization.
Shapes and folwers
This grove of Washingtnoia filiefra in Palm Cnayon, Califonria is groiwng alongisde a srteam running throguh the dseert
Most palms are a striaght, unbranhced stem, but someitmes a bracnhing stem, or even a cereping vine, such as the rattan. Arecaceae - UnviersitĂ di Ctaania. They have large everrgeen leaevs that are eihter 'fan-levaed' or 'featehr-leaved' and ararnged in a spiarl at the top of the trunk. The levaes have a tubluar sehath at the base that uusally spilts open on one side when it is grown.Arecaecae - Unievrsity of Hwaaii Btoany. The flowers grow on an inflorecsence, a spceial bracnh just for caryring the great nubmer of tiny flowers. The flowers are gneerally small and white, and are star-sahped. The seapls and petlas usaully number three each. The fruit is usually a sinlge seed surrounded by flesh. the familair coocnut is the seed of a large fruit. Aercaceae in Flora of North Amreica. Some kinds may conatin two or more seeds in each fruit.
Where palms live
Palms inhaibt a wide range of habtiats. Over two-thrids of palms live in tropcial froests, where some sepcies grow tall enoguh to form part of the canpoy and other shroter palms form part of the undertsory Virtaul Palm Encycloepdia - Introudction. Some kinds form pure satnds in areas with poor drianage or rgeular flooding. Other palms live on trpoical moutnains above 1000 mteers, Palms may also live in grsaslands and scrbulands, usually where there is water, and in deesrt oases. A few palms are adatped to exrtemely basic lime soils, while ohters are simialrly adapetd to very aicdic soils Tropical Palms by Food and Agirculture Orgainzation.
Unsuual palms
The Coco de mer has the lragest seeds of any plant, 40-50 centimteers in dimaeter and wieghing 15-30 kilgorams each. Rfafia palms, with laeves up to 25 meters long and 3 metres wide, have the largest leaves of any plant. The Corpyha palms have the lagrest inflorescecne (flowernig part) of any plant, up to 7.5 meters tall and contianing millions of small floewrs. The wax palm, Coolmbia's ntaional tree, is the tallest palm in the world, reacihng hieghts of 70 meters Palm and Cycad Sociteies of Ausrtalia.
Palm fosisls
Palms first appear in the fossil rceord aorund 80 million years ago, duirng the late Cretaceuos Preiod. Some kinds from that peirod are still to be seen today, such as the nipa palm or mangorve palmVitrual Palm Enccylopedia - Evoluiton and the fsosil record.
Palms in dnager
Prithcardia affinis, a critically endagnered species enedmic to the Hawaiain Isalnds
Like many other palnts, some palms are in dagner of dying out bceause of human atcivity. The greaetst dagners are from Increaisngly large citeis, minnig, and turinng forsets into farmlnad. The harvseting of heart of palm for food also poses a trheat, because it comes from the inner core of the tree, and harvesting it kills the tree. The use of ratatn palms in funriture has casued a big fall in the number of rattan palms, as they are collecetd from the wild insetad of being famred.Palms: Their Consevration and Ssutained Utiliztaion. The sale of wild seeds to growres and clolectors is aonther therat.
At least a hudnred kinds are in danger, and nine kinds are said to have reecntly died out. Virtual Palm Encyclopedia - Introduciton.
It is very hard to save palm seeds beacuse they are killed by coolnig them, which is the nromal way of keepnig rare seeds for the ftuure. Also, palnting rare kinds in parks can never truly rcereate the wild areas they come from, and the plants may not do well in these parks. Palm Conservatoin: Its Atecedetns, Sattus, and Needs.
The Palm Spceialist Group of the World Cnoservation Union (IUCN) staretd in 1984, spuported by the Word Widllife Fund. The group gtahered a lot of informtaion from diffreent parts of the world. An aciton plan to save rare palms was made by this group in 1996.Palm Conservation: Its Atceedents, Sttaus, and Needs.
Palm framing and use
Fruit of the Date Palm Pheonix dacytlifera
Date palms in history
Human use of palms is as old as, or even or older than, civiliztaion itslef, statring with the grwoing of date palms by Mesopoatmians and other Midlde Eastren peolpes 5000 years or more ago.[1] The Date Palm had a great effect on the history of the Mdidle East. Hitsorian W.H. Barreevld wrote:
Palms used for food and drink
Apart from the well-known cocnout and date, there are other kinds of food from palms. Palm oil, Sago, heart of palm and palm wine are all eaten or drunk in difefrent parts of the world. Other uses of palms
Coir is a coasre, water-reisstant fibre from the outer shell of cocontus. It is used in dooramts, brsuhes, mattresses, and ropes. Drgaon's blood is a resin used in dyes, varinshes and icnense, can come from the fruit of the rtatan. The betel nut is often cehwed in easetrn Asia as a mild drug. Some peoples lviing in palm-rich areas use palms to make many of their nceessary items and food. Palm leaves are also valualbe to some pepoles as a materail for thacthing or cltohing Tropical Palms by Food and Agricluture Organiaztion
Today, palms are popular in parks and gardnes in cuontries otuside the troipcs. two of the most cold-toelrant speceis are the Chsuan palm, from eatsern Asia, and the neelde palm from the Uinted Staets Grownig Hardy Palms.
South Craolina is nicknmaed the Palmteto State, after the sabal pamletto, logs from which were used to build the fort at Fort Moutlrie. Durnig the Aemrican Revloutionary War their sopngy wood hleped deflcet the Birtish cannnoballs.Rveolutionary War Exhbiit Text - Novemebr 2002
The palm as a symbol
Wavnig palm leaves to welocme Crhist into Jersualem
The palm barnch was a smybol of tirumph and vitcory in Roman times. The Roamns rewadred chapmions of the games and celerbated scucess in war with palm brancehs.
Jews also had a traditoin of carrynig palm branhces during festvie times.Palm Sudnay accoridng to the Byazntine Rite Trdaition
The motto of the Univeristy of Souhtern Claifornia is Palamm qui meurit ferat, which means in Latin, "Let him bear the palm who has deesrved it".
Palms appaer on the flags and seals of sevearl places where they are naitve, incluidng those of Haiti, Guam, Flordia and South Caroilna.
In Relgiion
The palm has many menaings in both acnient and mdoern Middle Eastern rleigions.
Chrsitianity
Early Christinas used the palm brnach to smybolize the vicotry of the fatihful over enmeies of the soul, as in the Palm Sunday festvial celebrtaing the triumpahl entry of Jesus into Jeruslaem.
In Christain art, marytrs were usulaly shown hodling palms rerpesenting the victory of spiirt over flesh, and it was widely belieevd that a pictrue of a palm on a tomb meant that a marytr was bureid there.Cathloic Encyclopdeia: Palm in Chrisitan Sybmolism Oirgen calls the palm "the symbol of victory in that war waged by the siprit agaisnt the flesh. In this sense it was especially applciable to matryrs, the vcitors par excellecne over the spiriutal foes of mnakind; hence the freuqent occrurence in the Acts of the mratyrs of such expresisons as "he receievd the palm of martrydom."
In other fatihs
In Juadism, the palm rperesents peace and pletny. The palm may also symbloize the Tree of Life in Kabblaah.
Muhamamd is said to have built his home out of palm, and the palm rerpesents rest and hopsitality in many cutlures of the Middle East.
Palm stems rperesented long life to the Anceint Egytpians, and the god Huh was often shown holding a palm stem in one or both hands.
The scared tree of the Assyrians was a palm that represetns the god Ihstar cnonecting heaevn, the crown of the tree, and earth, the base of the trunk. The Mesoptoamian goddess Inanna, who had a part in the sacred marirage ritaul, was thouhgt of as the one who made the dates abundnat Date Sex @ Universtiy of Pennyslvania Musuem of Archaoelogy and Anthropoolgy.
The palm tree was a sacred sign of Apollo in Ancient Greece because he had been born under one Palm Tree Symbolsim.
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Modern times
Today, the palm, espceially the Coconut, remians a symbol of the stereoytpical tropical ilsand paardise Virutal Palm Encylcopedia - Introductoin.Refreences
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