Palms

PALMS – Decorative and useful tropical woody plants, mostly trees, some bushy, and a few climbers, forming the botanical family Palmaceae. This is one of the most outstandingly beautiful groups of the plant world. The stately trunks and feathery foliage of many of the 1,500 or more species give the characteristic note to the tropical landscape.

Those most frequently seen have a cylindrical trunk, from a few to 100 or more ft. in height, in some species smooth, in others armed or spiny, and in many covered with the sheaths of old leaves. Most palms bear their leaves in a crown at the top, and are divided according to the type of foliage and for horticultural convenience into two sections, quite broad in their inclusiveness. One comprises the so-called Fan Palms with broad leaves palmately divided; in some species they are 10 ft. across. The other is made up of the Feather Palms with leaves divided in feather-form, that is, cut into segments from the midrib; these are occasionally nearly 50 ft. in length. Sometimes the foliage, and occasionally the fruit, is armed with sharp spines, or prickles.

Many palms are grown outdoors in Florida, the Gulf States, and California, and a few species are native in the South Among these, the sabals and other palmettos will endure several degrees of frost. Palms of the type of the Royal (which see) add immeasurable dignity when planted along avenues or driveways or to frame vistas, and the Coconut Palms are particularly lovely as they bend over the ocean beaches. The stiff fans of the Palmettos form a good evergreen background for the garden picture; and the plants used singly make excellent accents. The feathery plumage and beautiful flowers and fruit of other species add interest to the tropical and semi-tropical garden, which nothing else can supply.

Black scorch of date palms prevalent in the South West is reduced by destroying infected trunks, leaves, and litter. In California a Penicillium disease which may kill ornamental palms appears as discolored linear streaks in leaves of Phoenix canariensis; as deformed leaves and retarded terminal growth in Washinglonia filfera (for which the resistant W. robusta should be substituted) ; and trunk cankers, which should be surgically treated as soon as noted, on Cocos plutnosa.

A surprising number of palms are now grown in the U. S. and as experimenting is constantly being done with new species, and much data being accumlated, others will be found adaptable. Among those now frequently grown are the King, Rootspine, Grugru, European Fan Palms, Areca, Wine or Fish-tail Palms, Talipot and Linoma Palms, Assai, Coquito or Monkey Palms, Coconut Palms, Norfolk-Island, Umbrella and Nikau Palms, Spiny Maidenhair or Thorny Fish-tail Palm, Raphia Palms (also called Wine and Bamboo Palms), Silver Palms, Seaforthia, Washingtonia, Latania, Livistona, Date Palms, and others.

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