Palms

tropical plants · flowering plants · fronds

Giant leaf family. Palms have enormous feathery or fan-shaped leaves called fronds that grow at the top of their trunks. These amazing leaves can be longer than a car and are perfect for catching tropical sunshine.

Tropical powerhouses. Most of the world's 2,600 kinds of palms live in warm, tropical and subtropical places. You'll find them thriving in steamy rainforests, hot deserts, and even swampy wetlands.

Many different shapes. Palms come in wild varieties, not just the tall tree kind you might imagine. Some are short and stubby, some climb like vines, and a few even have branches, which is pretty rare for palms.

Always green and blooming. Palm fronds stay green year-round, and palms flower and make seeds to spread around. This makes them special plants that never have a bare season.

Unbranched trunks. Most palms have one main trunk with no branches, which makes them look so elegant and different from regular trees. The only palms with branching trunks belong to the Hyphaene genus.