Types Of Palm Trees

Types Of Palm Trees

Palm trees are plants that beautify the gardens and courtyards in a spectacular way . Of the more than 3000 species that are distributed throughout the world, especially in the tropical and temperate regions, there are many, if not many, that have a very high ornamental value.

Therefore, if you want to know more about them, if you would love to discover what types of palm trees there are , you can not miss this special article.

The palm can be classified in two ways: according trunks have and according to the shape of the leaves. Let’s start with the first.

Classification according to the number of logs

Unicaul Palm Trees

The unicaul palms are those that have a single trunk . They are the most common of all, since for obvious reasons they occupy much smaller space than those with several stems. But they have a problem: if the growth guide is damaged, the majority of the time the specimen dies.

Some of the most interesting species are:

Cocos nucifera 

The coconut tree is a palm tree that can be found on the sandy tropical beaches of the Caribbean Sea, Indian Ocean and the Pacific. It reaches an approximate height of 20 meters, with a crown of pinnate leaves up to 3 meters long. The fruit, the coconut, is the largest seed that exists, weighing up to 2kg. It does not resist cold or frost .

Roystonea regia

The Cuban royal palm is a species native to southern Florida, Belize, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Honduras and some regions of Mexico and the Cayman Islands. It reaches a maximum height of 40 meters, but usually does not exceed 25m. Its leaves are pinnate, with very numerous leaflets and bifid at the apex. The trunk is ringed, smooth and with a diameter of up to 60cm. It can resist up to -2ºC whenever it is an adult and acclimatized specimen(young plants can not stand frost).

Syagrus romanzoffiana

The feathery coconut , also known as the pindó or pindó palm, is a plant native to southern Brazil, Paraguay, the Argentinean Litoral, Bolivia and Uruguay that reaches a height of about 25 meters. Its trunk is smooth, ringed, with up to 60cm of basal diameter. The leaves are pinnate, whose lanceolate leaflets are inserted into the spine in different rows and clusters, which is what gives the feathery appearance. Resists frost without problems of up to -8ºC .

Multi-palm trees

The multicaul palms are those that have several trunks . They are very decorative, but to be able to contemplate them in all their splendor it is necessary to have some space in the garden. Some of the most interesting are:

Chamaerops humilis

Known as palmito or margallón, it is a native palm tree from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands that reaches a height of about 4 meters. The leaves are fan-shaped, and can be green or bluish green depending on the variety. Resists until -10ºC.

Cyrtostachys renda

The red palm is a plant native to Sumatra that has the trunk and rachis of that color. It reaches a height of up to 12 meters, with pinnate leaves 2 meters long. The disadvantage is that to be able to grow it outdoors all year round, it is necessary that the temperature and humidity are high, since it does not withstand cold or dry environments .

Nannorhops ritchieana

This is a species of multicaule palm tree native to Asia, specifically from southern Arabia, Iran and Pakistan that reaches a height of about 2-3m. Its leaves are fan-shaped, green or bluish depending on the variety. Resists cold and frost up to -15ºC .

Classification according to the type of leaf

The leaves of the palm trees can be of several types, which are the following:

Pinnate leaf

The pinnae or leaflets of these palms sprout from the spine outwards . When doing so, it ends with a more or less feathery look. Examples:

Archontophoenix maxima

It is an endemic palm from Queensland, Australia that reaches 25 meters in height. Its leaves are pinnate, green, and with a length of up to 4 meters. It is the largest of the genre , and also one of the coolest; even so I can tell you that it supports without suffering damages until -2ºC .

Butia capitata

The palm tree capitata is an endemic plant from the center-east of Brazil that reaches a height of about 5 meters. Its crown is formed by pinnate and arched leaves of up to 170cm in length. Resists until -7ºC .

Phoenix dactylifera

The date tree is a palm tree native to Southwest Asia that reaches a height of up to 30 meters and has pinnate bluish green leaves that measure about 2m. It produces edible dates and resists the cold until -10ºC .

Bi-pitched sheet

The leaflets, instead of being simple, are doubly pinnacled , but they also branch in numerous pinnuladas. The most representative species is:

Caryota obtusa

It is a native palm from India, Laos and Thailand that reaches a height of up to 40 meters, with bipinnate leaves that can reach up to 4 meters. It has a slow growth rate and can not withstand frost .

Slapped sheet

This type of leaf is known as a fan-shaped blade, since the limb looks like this. The examples are:

Copernicia prunifera

Known as carnauba, palma caranúba or carnauberia, it is a plant native to northeastern Brazil that reaches a height of up to 15 meters. The leaves are fan-shaped and measure 1.5m wide. It does not resist frosts .

Washingtonia robusta

Known as a Mexican fan palm , it is a palm tree native to the south of the peninsula of Baja California (Mexico) that reaches a height of up to 35 meters. Its leaves are fan-shaped, green. Resists until -7ºC.

Costapalmadas leaves

The leaves are inserted in the form of a rib. Some examples are:

Sabal maritima

It is a species native to Jamaica and Cuba that reaches a height of up to 15 meters. Its costapalmadas leaves, each with 70-110 leaflets, can reach between 2 and 3 meters. Despite its origin, it can withstand frost of up to -4ºC .

Livistona paribus

It is a palm tree native to Asia that reaches a height of up to 40 meters. Its crown is composed of fan-shaped leaves of green color, and thorny. Resists until -5ºC .