Palms
What are they?
A strongly leaning Coconut Palm, arching out over golden sands towards the intense blue of the warm sea beyond is perhaps the perfect idyll for most people of a tropical beach. And yet palms are a vastly diverse group of some 2,700 species, from stately trees to spiny vines and occurring in a wide range of habitats from tropical rainforest to arid deserts. It's fair to say, though, that palms are generally plants of warmer climes and only a handful of species naturally reach as far north as the Mediterranean region. Palms produce many products of value to humans, including dates, coconuts, palm oil and ratan and differ from most other trees in having no secondary thickening to produce bark; instead, the trunks consist of the hardened bases of the old leaves.
Where are they found?
Over the past 20 years or so, local authorities have increasingly used a selection of palm trees in town and city plantings, especially on roundabouts and as eye-catching displays in town centres. These plants are surviving our increasingly milder winters without the need for winter protection and are thus becoming an integral part of urban habitats as street trees and amenity plants.
Identification
Palms can be difficult to identify as planted ornamentals because there are few good references that cover a wide enough spectrum of the species that are in cultivation. It helps to start with noting whether the leaves are palmate (i.e. all the leaflets or dissections of the leaf radiating from a single, basal point) or pinnate (all of the leaflets arranged like the rungs of a ladder, along an elongate, central axis). After that, it pays to note details of as many parts as possible, including the appearance of the trunk, the fruits and flowers if present (if not, you might need to return at an appropriate time of year) and the precise details of the leaves, including the appearance of the basal section and how the leaflets are attached to the main axis of the leaf.
Dwarf Fan Palm Chamaerops humilis
Native to the Mediterranean region and very variable in appearance, from short-stemmed, clump forming individuals to taller, singe-stemmed plants. The latter may grow to 5m in height, but clumping individuals may be not much above head height when full-grown. Leaves palmate, with or without silvery scales on their petioles and surfaces and with foward-pointing spines at their bases.
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Chusan Palm Trachycarpus fortunei
Introduced from China as an ornamental and one of the first palms to be widely cultivated as a garden plant, some plants in Norfolk dating from at least the early 1980s. A single-stemmed species, to at least 10m in height and with a wiry-haired trunk. Leaves palmate, with irregular teeth towards the base of the petiole.
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Canary Islands Date Palm Phoenix canariensis
Introduced from the Canary Islands as an ornamental. Usually a single-stemmed species but may sometimes form clumps, with a trunk at first with wiry hairs but becoming smoother and corky with age. Leaves pinnate, to 6m in length, eventually forming a spectacular and graceful, many-leaved crown. Leaflets V-shaped, with the open side of the V facing upwards and often with a pale, waxy bloom. Leaf bases with long, sharp spines. Fruits orange, maturing to dark, reddish-brown.
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Pindo Palm Butia capitata
(Jelly Palm) Introduced from South America as an ornamental. A single-stemmed species but may sometimes form clumps, with a trunk at first with wiry hairs but becoming smoother and corky with age. Leaves pinnate, to 2.5m in length and with a bluish bloom. Leaflets V-shaped, with the open side of the V facing downwards and with a small 'pseudo stalk' called a ramenta attached at the base. Leaf bases with long, stiff hairs, becoming spiny with age. Flowers reddish-brown and creamy-yellow, arranged in long, narrow spikes.
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