Genus: Palms & Cycads

Acoelorrhaphe

Acoelorrhaphe

Monospecific genus of fan palms (Coryphoideae) native to Florida, the Caribbean, and Central America. Grows in dense colonies in wetlands and coastal swampy areas. Its slender, clustered stems give a highly ornamental habit. The only species, A. wrightii, is known as the Everglades palm or paurotis palm.

Acrocomia

Acrocomia

Genus of spiny palms from tropical America, with robust trunks armed with long black spines and pinnate leaves. Their oily fruits are of great economic and ecological importance. The genus includes few accepted species under modern criteria, A. aculeata being the most widespread. Provides oil, heart of palm, timber, and forage for wildlife.

Adonidia

Adonidia

Small genus of ornamental palms from South-East Asia and Pacific islands, known mainly for A. merrillii, the Christmas palm. Its elegant ringed trunks, clean crowns, and clusters of bright red or yellow fruits make it one of the most cultivated palms in tropical gardens worldwide.

Aiphanes

Aiphanes

Genus of spiny palms from northern South America and the Caribbean, with stems densely covered in long black spines on trunk, leaves and bracts. Their irregularly arranged pinnae give a highly distinctive wild and rustic appearance. Despite their forbidding look, they produce fruits valued by local wildlife and are used in specialist tropical gardens.

Allagoptera

Allagoptera

Genus of acaulescent or very short-stemmed palms native to eastern Brazil, adapted to coastal sandy soils and open campos. Their pinnate leaves emerge almost from ground level, giving a low and elegant silhouette. A. arenaria is the type species and inhabits coastal dunes of the Brazilian Atlantic coast, tolerating salt, sand and wind with remarkable resilience.

Aphandra

Aphandra

Monospecific genus of palms from Ecuador and Peru, whose leaves provide high-quality fibres used in making the toquilla straw hat (UNESCO Intangible Heritage). Related to the vegetable ivory palms (Phytelephas), it produces a hard endosperm though in lesser quantity. Its communities in Amazonian forests have great local socioeconomic importance.

Archontophoenix

Archontophoenix

Genus of slender Australian palms, among the most elegant and widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical gardens worldwide. Their smooth, ringed grey-green trunks, dense crowns of arching leaves, and striking red fruit clusters make them highly ornamental. The name means "prince's palm" in Greek. Includes the bangalow and Alexandra palms.

Areca

Areca

Genus of palms from South and South-East Asia, known mainly for A. catechu, the betel nut palm, whose fruit (areca nut) is chewed by hundreds of millions of people in Asia together with betel leaf (Piper betle). It is one of the most widely cultivated palms in the world. The genus includes about 50 species, mostly slender shade palms.

Arenga

Arenga

Genus of pinnate-leaved palms from South and South-East Asia, characterised by dark, tough fibres at the base of leaf sheaths wrapping the trunk. Ranges from small clumping palms to large solitaries. Several species are economically important for their sap, which yields palm sugar, palm wine, and vinegar.

Asterogyne

Asterogyne

Attalea

Attalea

Genus of large solitary palms from tropical America, with large clusters of oily fruits and high-strength fibres. Ecologically key in neotropical savannas, forests, and palm groves. Includes palms of high economic value: sources of oil, fibre, palm wine, and building material for Amazonian and Andean communities.

Bactris

Bactris

Megadiverse genus of spiny palms from tropical America, with more than 70 species ranging from small understorey clumpers to medium arborescents. Their stems, leaves, and fruits are frequently armed with black spines. B. gasipaes, the peach palm, is one of the few palms fully domesticated by pre-Hispanic civilisations.

Balaka

Balaka

Genus of elegant palms endemic to the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific. Their slender, solitary or loosely grouped stems, crowned by elegant pinnate leaves and small red to orange fruits, make them very ornamental palms for humid tropical and subtropical climates. The genus is considered vulnerable due to deforestation of Fijian forests.

Beccariophoenix

Beccariophoenix

Genus of Malagasy palms closely related to coconuts (Cocos). Their large pinnate leaves with stiff leaflets display natural windows or perforations in some specimens (hence the name "window palm" for B. madagascariensis). The genus is named after the distinguished Italian botanist and palm specialist Odoardo Beccari (1843–1920).

Bentinckia

Bentinckia

Small genus of slender palms from southern India and the Nicobar Islands, with two accepted species. Their elegant ringed trunks, prominent crownshafts, and crowns of arching pinnate leaves make them very ornamental palms. Named in honour of Governor-General of India William Henry Cavendish Bentinck (1774–1839).

Bismarckia

Bismarckia

Monospecific genus of giant fan palms endemic to Madagascar, considered among the most spectacular palms in the world. Their enormous palmate leaves of iridescent silvery blue-grey colour can reach 3 m in diameter. Named in honour of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898). Enormously popular in global tropical gardening.

Borassodendron

Borassodendron

Genus of dioecious fan palms closely related to Borassus, with two species in Malaysia and Borneo. Their large columnar trunks and huge palmate leaves make them palms of great landscape presence. They are rare in cultivation and little known outside their natural range, but of great interest to specialised collectors.

Bowenia

Bowenia

Small genus of cycads endemic to Queensland (Australia), unique in Zamiaceae for its bipinnate leaves (other cycads have simple pinnate leaves). Plants of very ornamental, fern-like appearance, with an underground rhizome and leaves emerging directly from the ground. They are the only cycads with bipinnatisect leaves in the world.

Brahea

Brahea

Genus of fan palms from western Mexico and Central America, highly valued in arid and Mediterranean gardens for their remarkable drought and cold resistance. Their silvery to glaucous palmate leaves and slender trunks up to 15 m make them very ornamental. Named in honour of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). Includes some of the most drought- and cold-hardy palms in the world.

Butia

Butia

Genus of feather palms from South America (Southern Cone), popularly known as pindo or yatay palms. Their arching grey-green to glaucous leaves and very aromatic, edible, beta-carotene-rich fleshy fruits make them very popular in Mediterranean and warm-temperate gardens. They are the most cold-hardy pinnate-leaved palms growing on the American continent.

Calamus

Calamus

Genus of climbing palms in subfamily Calamoideae, commonly known as rattans, native mainly to the Asian tropics, Africa, and Australia. With over 500 accepted species, it is the most species-rich genus in family Arecaceae.

Calyptrocalyx

Calyptrocalyx

Genus of solitary or clustering palms belonging to subfamily Arecoideae, native to New Guinea and adjacent western Pacific islands.

Calyptrogyne

Calyptrogyne

Carpentaria

Carpentaria

Monotypic genus of palms in subfamily Arecoideae, native to northern Australia, with slender solitary trunk, prominent ring marks, and elegant pinnate leaves.

Carpoxylon

Carpoxylon

Monotypic genus of palms in subfamily Arecoideae, endemic to Aneityum island in Vanuatu, with robust trunk and large fruits.

Caryota

Caryota

Genus of palms known as fishtail palms for their unique bipinnate leaves, the only palms with this type of foliage. Native from South and Southeast Asia to the Pacific, they are monocarpic: they flower once and then die.

Ceratozamia

Ceratozamia

Genus of cycads in family Zamiaceae, endemic to Mexico and Central America. Plants have subterranean or epigeal stems with leathery pinnate leaves and cylindrical strobili with megasporophylls bearing a characteristic pair of horns.

Ceroxylon

Ceroxylon

Genus of palms in subfamily Ceroxyloideae known as wax palms, endemic to the Andean cloud forests of South America. Includes the tallest palms in the world, with trunks reaching up to 60 m coated with a characteristic white wax that protects against cold and high-altitude UV radiation.

Chamaedorea

Chamaedorea

Genus of understory palms in subfamily Arecoideae, with over 100 species native mainly to Mexico and Central America. They are the most popular indoor ornamental palms in the world thanks to their shade tolerance and ease of pot cultivation.

Chamaerops

Chamaerops

Monotypic genus in subfamily Coryphoideae containing the only palm native to continental Europe. Plants form cold-hardy multi-stemmed shrubs with toothed, spiny fan leaves.

Chambeyronia

Chambeyronia

Genus of palms in subfamily Arecoideae endemic to New Caledonia, famous for their striking bright-red new leaves that contrast with mature dark-green foliage. Highly valued as collector ornamentals.

Chelyocarpus

Chelyocarpus

Genus of fan palms in subfamily Coryphoideae, native to the Amazon basin and tropical forests of northwestern South America. Their rounded leaves are distinguished by being divided almost to the base into pairs of fused segments.

Chuniophoenix

Chuniophoenix

Genus of fan palms in subfamily Coryphoideae, endemic to southern China and Vietnam. Their leathery palmate leaves and small flowers in panicles are diagnostic characters. One of the most threatened palms in Asia.

Coccothrinax

Coccothrinax

Genus of fan palms in subfamily Coryphoideae, endemic to the Caribbean, with over 50 recognized species. They are robust single-trunked palms with palmate leaves that are green on top and silvery beneath in many species.

Cocos

Cocos

Monotypic genus in subfamily Arecoideae containing the world's most economically and culturally important palm: the coconut (Cocos nucifera). Its fruits, coconuts, are consumed throughout the tropical world.

Copernicia

Copernicia

Genus of fan palms in subfamily Coryphoideae, native to the Caribbean (especially Cuba) and the Gran Chaco of South America. Several species produce quality wax on their leaves, with carnauba wax (C. prunifera) being the most well-known.

Corypha

Corypha

Genus of fan palms in subfamily Coryphoideae, native from South and Southeast Asia to the Pacific. They are long-lived monocarpic plants: they can live 40–80 years before flowering once and dying. They produce the largest inflorescence in the plant kingdom.

Cycas

Cycas

Cyphophoenix

Cyphophoenix

Monotypic genus of palms native to New Caledonia, characterized by a slender habit, bright green pinnate leaves, and reddish fruits. Grows in humid tropical forests and maquis scrub on ultramafic soils.

Cyrtostachys

Cyrtostachys

Genus of tropical palms from Southeast Asia, famous for the vivid bright-red color of their leaf sheaths and petioles, earning them the popular name lipstick palm. They grow in swamps and humid lowland forests.

Dictyosperma

Dictyosperma

Monotypic genus of palms endemic to the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues). Commonly known as hurricane palm for its resistance to strong winds. Its slender trunk can reach 15 m in height.

Dioon

Dioon

Dransfieldia

Dransfieldia

Monotypic genus of palms native to western New Guinea (Indonesia). Described in 2006 in honor of prominent palm botanist John Dransfield, it was separated from Ptychosperma based on distinct morphological and molecular characteristics.

Drymophloeus

Drymophloeus

Genus of slender palms from the tropical forests of New Guinea and adjacent islands of the western Pacific. Characterized by pinnate leaves with wedge-shaped leaflets and striking red or orange fruits.

Dypsis

Dypsis

Megadiverse genus of palms endemic mainly to Madagascar, with more than 140 described species. It includes some of the most popular ornamental palms in the world, such as the areca or bamboo palm (Dypsis lutescens) and the triangle palm (Dypsis decaryi). Its extraordinary diversity reflects the evolutionary isolation of Madagascar.

Elaeis

Elaeis

Genus of two palm species producing the most productive vegetable oil in the world. Elaeis guineensis, native to West Africa, is the source of palm oil that supplies more than 35% of the global vegetable oil market. Its industrial plantations have caused serious impacts on tropical biodiversity.

Encephalartos

Encephalartos

Euterpe

Euterpe

Genus of tropical palms from South America and the Caribbean, globally known for Euterpe oleracea, the açaí palm whose fruit pulp is one of the most consumed functional foods worldwide. The genus includes about 7 species of slender palms from humid forests.

Gastrococos

Gastrococos

Monotypic genus of palms endemic to Cuba. Distinguished by its swollen trunk base covered with long, sharp spines. Adapted to Cuban tropical dry forest.

Gaussia

Gaussia

Genus of slender palms from the Caribbean and Mesoamerica, with very slender trunks and plumose crowns. Some species grow in caves or limestone walls under low-light conditions.

Geonoma

Geonoma

Howea

Howea

Genus of two palm species endemic to Lord Howe Island (Australia), world-famous as luxury indoor plants. Their cultivation on Lord Howe Island is a century-old tradition and constitutes the archipelago's main economic industry.

Hydriastele

Hydriastele

Hyophorbe

Hyophorbe

Genus of 5 palm species endemic to the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues). It includes some of the most threatened palms in the world. Known as bottle or spindle palms for the characteristic shape of their trunks.

Iriartea

Iriartea

Johannesteijsmannia

Johannesteijsmannia

Genus of 4 understory palm species with some of the largest leaves in the plant kingdom, reaching 10 meters in length without dividing. Endemic to Malesia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo). The genus was named in honor of Dutch botanist Herman Johannes Lam.

Kentiopsis

Kentiopsis

Genus of 5–6 slender, elegant palm species endemic to New Caledonia. Distributed in rainforests and maquis on ultramafic soils. Several species threatened by nickel mining and wildfires.

Kerriodoxa

Kerriodoxa

Monotypic genus of fan palms endemic to southern Thailand (Krabi Province). Distinguished by its large, circular-flabellate leaves with a strikingly white-silver undersurface, a unique trait among palms. Described by John Dransfield in 1983.

Latania

Latania

Genus of 3 fan palm species, each endemic to a different island of the Mascarenes (Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues). They are large, dioecious palms with strikingly colored leaves: blue-grey, green, and yellow depending on the species. All are threatened.

Leopoldinia

Leopoldinia

Genus of 3 slender, multi-stemmed Amazonian palm species. Notable for their long leaf fibers used to make natural ropes, especially the piassava from Leopoldinia piassaba, used in industrial brooms and brushes.

Lepidozamia

Lepidozamia

Genus of 2 Australian cycad species that are among the tallest in the world, able to exceed 7 meters in height. Both species are native to Queensland and are distinguished by their large cones and pinnate leaves with glossy, leathery leaflets.

Licuala

Licuala

One of the most diverse palm genera, with more than 150 fan palm species distributed across tropical Southeast Asia, Australia, and Pacific islands. Their leaves are circular and fan-pleated, with segments ranging from entire (pleated) to deeply divided. They are understory palms highly prized in tropical gardening.

Livistona

Livistona

Fan palm genus with a wide distribution in the Old World, with about 36 species in Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, India, and northeastern Africa. Characterized by orbicular leaves deeply divided into pendulous segments. Some species are monumental trees exceeding 25 meters.

Macrozamia

Macrozamia

Mauritia

Mauritia

Mauritiella

Mauritiella

Metroxylon

Metroxylon

Genus of hapaxanthic palms (dying after flowering) from the tropical Pacific, famous for being the source of sago, a starch extracted from the trunk pith that has fed millions of people in Melanesia and Southeast Asia for centuries. The trunk accumulates starch for decades before flowering once.

Microcycas

Microcycas

Monotypic genus of cycads endemic to Cuba, the only cycad native to the island. It is an extraordinary botanical relic and the sole Cuban representative of the family Cycadaceae. Its wild populations are severely reduced and it is the subject of intensive conservation programs.

Nannorrhops

Nannorrhops

Oenocarpus

Oenocarpus

Oncosperma

Oncosperma

Genus of 5 spiny palm species from tropical Southeast Asia, typically growing in multi-stemmed clumps of upright trunks covered in black spines. The best-known species, O. tigillarium (nibung), was widely used in traditional construction for its hard timber.

Orania

Orania

Pelagodoxa

Pelagodoxa

Monotypic genus of palms endemic to the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia). It is one of the rarest and most threatened palms in the world, with wild populations reduced to a few individuals in remote valleys. Its fruit is very large and fibrous, unlike that of any other palm.

Phoenicophorium

Phoenicophorium

Monotypic genus of palms endemic to the Seychelles Islands. The only species, P. borsigianum, is striking for its entire juvenile leaves that become deeply pinnate with maturity. It is an iconic palm of the humid granite-island forests of Seychelles.

Phoenix

Phoenix

Genus of about 14 pinnate-leaved palms from the Old World, including some of the most cultivated and important to humanity. Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) has been cultivated for over 5,000 years in North Africa and the Middle East. They are dioecious and remarkably tolerant of drought and salinity.

Pigafetta

Pigafetta

Genus of very fast-growing spiny palms from island Southeast Asia. Their stems can exceed 30–40 m in height, making it one of the tallest palms in the world. It belongs to subfamily Calamoideae together with rattans, although it grows erect like a typical palm.

Pinanga

Pinanga

Genus of about 120–140 palm species from the tropical understory of South and Southeast Asia and the Malesian region. They are small to medium-sized palms, clustering or solitary, highly ornamental thanks to their fruits that ripen in striking shades of red, orange, or black arranged in showy infructescences.

Prestoea

Prestoea

Genus of about 10 clustering palm species from tropical montane forests of the Caribbean and Central and South America. They are slender understory palms of high elevation, frequent in the cloud zone and palm forests of the Antilles and the Andes. Ecologically important as producers of nectar and fruit for local wildlife.

Pritchardia

Pritchardia

Genus of about 25–30 fan palm species endemic mainly to Hawai'i, with some in Fiji, Tonga, and the Cook Islands. They are iconic palms of Pacific islands, adapted to a wide variety of habitats from coasts to mountain forests. Most Hawaiian species are threatened by deforestation, introduced herbivores, and seed predation by rodents.

Pseudophoenix

Pseudophoenix

Genus of 4 Caribbean palm species, known as "cherry palms" for their striking red or orange fruits. They are slender palms with a characteristic swelling on the middle or lower part of the trunk (fusiform bulge). They are among the most threatened palms in the world: their hard timber was widely exploited for poles and their coastal habitats have been devastated by tourist development.

Ptychosperma

Ptychosperma

Genus of about 30 elegant palm species from New Guinea, Australia, and Pacific islands. They are slender-stemmed palms, clustering or solitary, with striking pendulous infructescences of fruits ripening bright red or orange. Several species are popular in tropical horticulture for their beauty and adaptability to cultivation.

Raphia

Raphia

Genus of about 20 tropical African and Malagasy palm species, known for producing raffia fiber, extracted from the young leaf petioles. They are large plants, some hapaxanthic, with pinnate leaves that can exceed 20 m in length, being the longest of any vascular plant in the world.

Ravenea

Ravenea

Genus of about 24 palm species endemic to Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, popularly known as "majesty palms". Some species are dioecious, others monoecious. Ravenea rivularis, the most cultivated species, is a fast-growing riverside palm that has become one of the best-selling houseplants in the world.

Rhapis

Rhapis

Genus of about 12 small clustering fan palm species from southern China and Southeast Asia. Known as lady palms or bamboo palms for their slender, knotty stems. They are the most tolerant palms for indoor conditions and low light, cultivated in East Asia for centuries as parlor ornamentals.

Rhopaloblaste

Rhopaloblaste

Roystonea

Roystonea

Genus of about 11 royal palm species from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico basin, recognizable by their smooth white-grey trunk and brilliant green crownshaft that makes them unmistakable. They are the most iconic urban palms of Cuba and the Caribbean, a symbol of Cuban national identity. R. regia is the national tree of Cuba.

Sabal

Sabal

Genus of about 17 fan palm species from the southeastern United States, Mexico, the Antilles, and Central America. Known as palmettos, they are among the most cold-hardy palms of subtropical and tropical regions. S. palmetto is the state tree of South Carolina and Florida. Their costapalmate fan leaves distinguish them from similar genera.

Sabinaria

Sabinaria

Schippia

Schippia

Serenoa

Serenoa

Monotypic genus containing only the saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), native to the southeastern United States. It is one of the longest-lived plants on the planet, with individuals that can exceed 700 years. It forms dense thickets on the coastal plains of Florida and the Gulf states. Its berries are widely used in herbal medicine.

Socratea

Socratea

Sommieria

Sommieria

Monotypic genus of understory palms from New Guinea, represented by a single species, S. leucophylla. It is a solitary low-growing palm with irregular pinnate leaves. The underside of its leaves is a striking white-grey color, a characteristic that gives it its name and makes it unmistakable among the forest floor vegetation.

Stangeria

Stangeria

Monotypic genus of cycads endemic to southern Africa, the sole representative of the family Stangeriaceae. Its appearance is unusual for a cycad: its pinnate leaves resemble a fern rather than the rigid leaves of most cycads. It is considered the most threatened cycad in southern Africa due to overcollection for traditional Zulu medicine (muthi).

Syagrus

Syagrus

Genus of about 50 feathery palm species from South America and the Caribbean, including the famous queen palm (S. romanzoffiana), one of the most cultivated palms worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. They are elegant palms with arching pinnate leaves and drupaceous fruits. Several species produce high-quality coconut oil. The genus harbors the greatest diversity of palms in the Brazilian Cerrado.

Thrinax

Thrinax

Genus of 2–3 Caribbean fan palm species, especially from the Greater Antilles and Florida. They are slender palms of limestone coastal areas, with fan leaves and distinctive white or cream-white fruits. Adapted to poor limestone soils and coastal environments with salt and wind. Not to be confused with the much more diverse genus Coccothrinax.

Trachycarpus

Trachycarpus

Genus of about 9 cold-hardy fan palm species native to the mountainous areas of East Asia (China, Himalayas, Myanmar). The best-known species, T. fortunei, is the most cold-hardy palm cultivated in the world, enduring down to -17°C. The brown fiber covering the trunk is an unmistakable characteristic of the genus.

Veitchia

Veitchia

Genus of about 18 elegant palm species from the western Pacific (Fiji, Vanuatu, Caroline Islands, Philippines). They are solitary palms of slender bearing with a striking green crownshaft and brilliant red or orange fruits upon ripening. Several species are widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as top ornamentals.

Verschaffeltia

Verschaffeltia

Monotypic genus of palms endemic to the Seychelles Islands, represented solely by V. splendida. It is a palm with spectacular stilt roots, very characteristic of the humid granite forests of the islands. Its aerial roots form an elevated conical base that allows it to maintain itself on the steep slopes of the Seychelles mountains.

Wallichia

Wallichia

Genus of about 8 hapaxanthic palm species from the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. They are clustering or solitary palms, in some cases dioecious, with rough-looking pinnate leaves. When the main stem dies after flowering, lateral stems replace it. Adapted to cool, humid montane forests.

Washingtonia

Washingtonia

Genus of 2 fan palm species from the desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. They are the native palms of the North American desert, capable of surviving in oases and rocky canyons of Baja California and the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. Their old leaves remain hanging, forming a characteristic "skirt" around the trunk.