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Palms
Palms are evergreens, mostly tropical, with wood like stems
belonging to the Palmae family. There are about 2800 species and 300 genera
of palms. They have an exotic appeal which makes them a perennial favourite.
Most palms are like trees with single trunks. In palms, the leaves will develop
from a single bud atop each stem, unfolding like an accordion or a fan. Leaf
bases encircle the stem, at least early in their development. The stems of mature
palms are tough and woody.
The palm leaf consists
of a petiole (leaf stem) and blade (the main body of the leaf). Based on their
leaf structures, palms are classified into two basic categories; i.e, fan shaped
(palmate) or feather shaped (pinnate) compound leaves. Each type have its own
kind of structure. In most pinnate palms, the blade is divided into leaflets
and they attach to the rachis, an extension of the petiole through the blade.
Most palms grow as single-stem trees, but some develop multiple
stems from a single root system. The thickness of the stem ranges from a pencil
to more than a meter.
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