Dioecious plant. Height 12-30 m, at the top there is a rosette of pinnate leaves with leaflets up to 45 cm long; used for weaving and as roofing material. Paniculate inflorescences are formed in the axils of the leaves. The fruits are oblong berries 2-7 cm long, with sweet nutritious pulp surrounding a hard seed with a longitudinal furrow, and are of great economic importance. Fruiting begins at the age of 10-15 years and can last up to 100-200 years. One palm tree produces up to 100 kg of fruit per year. Dates are a staple food in several areas of North Africa and Asia; widely exported (dry and dried). Introduced into several Latin American countries and the southern United States. Many species are bred as ornamental.
Rattan (calamus), vines of the genus Calamus of the palm family. In the tropics of the Old World. Many rattans, so-called. rattan palm, etc., are used to make furniture, used as a building material, etc. Sometimes palms of several other genera, close to the genus Calamus, are called rattans.
Sugar palm, palm of the genus Arenga. In the tropics of Southeast Asia, on the islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Moluccas and the Philippines. Cultivated throughout tropical Asia. Juice is extracted from male inflorescences, from which sugar, palm wine, vinegar, and alcohol are obtained; wood and leaf petioles are used for construction, fibers from leaf sheaths are used for fishing gear and wickerwork. The fruits and young leaves are used as food.
Oil palm, tree of the palm family. In the western part of Equatorial Africa. Cultivated in the tropics, extracted from the so-called pericarp. palm oil, and from the seeds - palm kernel oil, used for food.

Botanical description. The leaves are either pinnate (coconut palm, date palm, foxtail palm, Howea, Hamedorea, etc., in Caryota they are bipinnate) or fan-shaped (Chamerops, Trachycarpus, Liviston palm, etc.). The trunks are usually unbranched, columnar, reaching 60 m in height; in some species they are covered with the remains of dead leaves (parts of petioles, fibers), in most they are smooth, often with clearly visible leaf marks, sometimes barrel-shaped swollen. The stems of liana-shaped rattan palms are climbing, clinging to the support with curved thorns; with a few centimeters in diameter they reach 180 m or more. There are known stemless species in which only leaves rise above the ground. The leaves are alternate, up to 15 m long, usually collected at the end of the trunk in a dense apical rosette. They are clearly divided into a leaf blade and a strong flexible petiole that passes into the vagina. The leaf blades are fan-shaped or pinnately dissected into hard segments; in some species they are covered with a waxy coating or spines. The flowers are usually small, numerous, unisexual, collected in axillary inflorescences hanging down from the crown, and less often in apical inflorescences. One of the largest inflorescences in the plant world is that of Corypha umbraculifera - 6-9 m in length. Being generally monoecious plants, palms require cross-pollination. The fruits are very diverse in shape, consistency and size. They can be round, oval, constricted in the middle part, hard, nut-like (in a coconut palm), with a fleshy outer part (in a date palm). The Seychelles palm (Lodoicea maldivica), native to the Seychelles Islands, has a fruit that reaches 45 centimeters in diameter and weighs up to 18 kilograms. This giant matures within 7-10 years. Some palms with apical inflorescences bloom once in a lifetime and die after fruiting (monocarpic plants). The greatest diversity of species is in Southeast Asia and the tropics of South America. Palms are inhabitants of tropical rainforests (only Chamaerops humilis lives outside the tropics, in Spain and the south of France). They are also found in deserts and savannas, on sea coasts; in the mountainous regions of South America, palm trees can reach the snow line. Thanks to their diverse uses, palm trees play an exceptional role in the life of the peoples of tropical countries. More than 220 species are known in agriculture, of which about 50 are widely cultivated.

Healing properties and uses. The most economically important are coconut and date palms, grown since ancient times, as well as oil palm. The pith of the sago palm trunk produces the starch from which sago is made. The source of sugar is the sweet sap of the sugar palm and a number of other species of the genus areng and mangrove palm (Nypa fruticans). The fermented sap of the palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer) is used in Asia to produce the alcoholic drink arak; in Africa, raffia species are used for this. The seeds of the areca palm (Areca catehu) and many others are edible and eaten. Palm trunks and leaves are used as building and roofing material. The fibers of petioles and leaf blades provide durable and rot-resistant material for the manufacture of coarse fabrics, ropes, ropes, and brushes. The coating on the leaves of Copernicia cerifera and species of the genus Ceroxylon, or wax palm (Ceroxylon), produces a vegetable wax used in perfumery. Flexible and shiny after removing the bark, the stems of liana-shaped rattans are used to make ropes, for holding together logs, building bridges and canopies, weaving furniture, baskets, and mats.
Dragon tree. Red rattan resin consists of a mixture of various esters of benzoic and benzoacetic acids. Previously, dragon tree resin was used as a remedy for diarrhea and in the manufacture of medicines for inflammation of the oral mucosa. Nowadays it is sometimes used as a coloring agent for tooth powders and toothpastes.
Sabal or Serenoa repens. Galenic preparations (extracts from sabal fruits) are often used to treat diseases of the bladder and prostate gland, urinary retention, impotence, various inflammations of the uterus and underdevelopment of the mammary glands. When using and dosing sabal preparations, one must proceed from the doctor’s instructions.
Finally, from the hard endosperm of the fruits of the South American palm tree Phytelephas macrocarpa, commonly called vegetable ivory, buttons, chess pieces, and inlay elements are produced. In indoor plant growing, palm trees are usually used for single (solitary) plantings. The most commonly grown date palms are the species of Trachycarpus, Chamaedorea, Livistona, and Rapis. Palm trees grow best in moderately moist loamy soil mixtures of medium density, tolerate some shading, and require regular spraying in summer. Tropical species are thermophilic and do not tolerate sudden temperature changes. Palm trees are propagated by seeds and suckers.

Fascinating facts about palm trees

The exhibition “Fascinating about palm trees” has opened at the Tallinn Botanical Garden.

There are about 2,650 palm trees in the world, says exhibition curator Urmas Laansoo. Palm trees are found naturally in Europe only in Portugal, Spain and Crete. In Crete they are generally unique - this is the only place in the world where this type of palm tree grows. Oddly enough, there are not many palm trees in Africa - only 100 species. And the greatest diversity is observed in Malaysia, where around one mountain alone you can count about a hundred species of palm trees. And if you want to get to a real palm paradise, then you should go to the island of Borneo.

The tallest palm trees can be seen in the Andes, in Peru or Ecuador - here they grow up to 60 meters. The tiniest are in Madagascar, where 20-30-year-old specimens reach 30 centimeters in height. And the longest leaves in the world are those of the raffia palm tree; they stretch up to 25 meters. By the way, this palm tree feels great indoors.

Decorative inflorescences

Of course, there are no 25-meter-long feathery raffia leaves in the Botanical Garden, but the 5-7-meter leaves of the largest and oldest palm tree in our garden were specially cut off and carefully leaned against the wall of the exhibition hall so that they can be examined. This palm tree is 77 years old, and it has already reached the ceiling of the Palm House, so from below its leaves do not seem so gigantic. But if you lift your head up, then in addition to the leaves you can also see many shoots strewn with small yellow flowers - this is how a date palm blooms. Already faded and dried inflorescences, on which dates can be seen, are also specially cut and look very decorative - human-sized, they are placed in large floor vases. By the way, when the dates ripen, they fall to the ground. And they also contain up to 70 percent sugar.

Date palm is very good to grow at home, recommends Urmas Laansoo. – She loves a bright place, fresh air. It is recommended to replant young palm trees once a year, adults - once every 4-6 years. Palm trees are cared for based on their natural growing conditions. Thus, the date palm naturally lives in the Sahara, and therefore is not particularly moisture-loving. If the palm tree is from tropical rain forests, then in hot summer weather it can be sprayed with warm water every day.

Rattan chair

Palm trees in the tropics are generally the most important plant for the local population. They build houses from them, make clothes, drink juice, and eat them.

This is a rattan palm tree,” Urmas Laansoo shows. – This palm is a liana, not a tree, its stem length reaches 180 meters. It is with this, painted in different colors, that florists decorate bouquets. Rattan furniture is also sold in Estonia.

At the stand you can see the exotic tallipot palm, which is known for its largest inflorescence, numbering 250 thousand flowers. It blooms only once and, after blooming, dies immediately. Or the Nipa palm - it grows not in soil, but in water.

Skirt, bottle, bamboo

This is the most beautiful palm tree in our garden – latan,” Urmas Laansoo shows. “We brought its seeds from Mauricius four years ago. In total, there are 51 types of palm trees in our garden.

In the collection there is, for example, a very slowly growing Tritrinax palm - a small 30-year-old tree with gray, metallic needles on the trunk. The fishtail palm (with fin-shaped leaves) is famous for making sugar from the juice of its inflorescences.

The trachycarpus palm, grown as a houseplant for more than 100 years, is the most cold-resistant palm, it can withstand temperatures down to minus 13 degrees. There are many trachycarpus in the Crimea - in Yalta, in Simferopol, in nature it grows in Burma.

In the open ground of the Palm House you can also see the skirt palm - when dry, its leaves hang around the trunk like a skirt. And also the bottle palm, the trunk of which actually resembles a bottle; this palm grows very slowly. But the bamboo palm, on the contrary, grows quickly and is good for the home - especially since its golden stems are very decorative.

Not palm trees

In addition to palm trees, the Botanical Garden displays plants mistakenly called palm trees. For example, the pinnate dion, which grows in central Mexico, is actually a coniferous plant. Its fruit, a cone weighing 25 kilograms, is considered the largest fruit. Next on the same list is Cordyline - it is also called the cabbage tree, because its edible young leaves can be used to make a salad. And also yucca palm. And the dragon tree. And banana, which is known to be a herb.

And each guest of the exhibition (and it is open from Friday to Sunday) will be able to choose a souvenir. This could be a shoot of aloe, pike tail, or seedlings of an exotic palm-liana, the edible leaves of which taste like spinach; you can use them to make a salad or cook soup.

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

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 comes 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.

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