Palms in Hawaiian Gardens
By: Norman C. Bezona and Fred D. Rauch, University of Hawaii
Most people associate palms with the tropics. This is because most of the world’s 2800 species (Moore, 1973; Tomlinson, 1979) of palms are found in tropical and subtropical regions. There is no other plant that can produce that south seas island atmosphere so effectively.
Palms vary from 150-foot trees to shrubs less than a foot high; some even are vines. Certain palms thrive in equatorial rain forests, while others grow at alpine locations where frost or snow is common. There is so much variation in the palm family that collecting can become an addiction.
In Hawaii we live in the most tropical part of the United States, which makes our area ideal for the culture of palms. The number of palm species frown in Hawaiian gardens increases every year because local nurseries, arboretums, and Palm Society members evaluate and distribute new types each year. At present there are more than 100 species commonly grown in Hawaii, including over 30 native palms of Pritchardia, or loulu palm.
Characteristics
Many people visiting Hawaii for the first time feel lost in a forest of palms, as they all seem to look alike; upon closer inspection, it is apparent that there are differences. Palms can be divided into two groups according to their leaf shape. There are the fan palms, those with fan-like fronds, and the feather palms, those with featherlike leaves.
Some palms produce only a single, unbranched trunk, ,while others produce many shoots from the ground or are clustered. Some palms produce smooth trunk, while others retain the leaf cases along the trunk, resulting in shaggy appearance.
Many palm flowers go unnoticed because they are small, generally produced in clusters, and greenish in color. Palm fruits vary in size from very small to some of the largest in the plant kingdom, weighing over 40 pounds.
