Evergreen trees or shrubs, often suckering, rarely scandent or acaulescent, dioecious, monoecious or polygamous
Trunks
usually unbranched, rarely forked, fibrous, covered with persistent leaf bases or with bossed transverse scars
Leaves
in juvenile stage usually simple and plicate, on mature plants in a terminal crown, compound, pinnate to palmate, with folds tearing apart with unfolding; petiole and/or rachis often armed with prickles, lobes toothed or serrate
Spadix
simple or compound, enclosed in a spathe in bud stage; bracts and bracteoles usually present
Flowers
many, small, usually unisexual, with males in upper and females in lower half of spadix, or bisexual
Sepals
3, free or fused below
Petals
3, free or fused below
Male flowers
: stamens usually 6, rarely many; anthers 2-thecous, opening lengthwise, with copious pollen; rudimentary carpels sometimes present
Female flowers
: staminodes sometimes present; carpels free or fused basally, mostly 3-locular; ovule solitary in each locule, erect or pendulous
Fruit
a 1-3-seeded drupe or berry; pericarp smooth, rough, or scaly
Nomenclature:
Arecaceae
Wright: 28 (1897)
Dyer: 215 (1952)
Tomlinson: 96 (1962)
Friedrich-Holzhammer: 1 (1967)
Dransfield: 1 (1986)
Uhl & Dransfield: 161 (1987)
Distribution & Notes:
Global
: Genera ± 200, species ± 1 200, ± cosmopolitan, widespread throughout warmer regions, solitary or gregarious, usually hygrophilous
Southern Africa
: Genera 5, species 6
References:
DRANSFIELD, J. 1986.
Flora of tropical East Africa
.
Palmae
DYER, R.A. 1952. A note on the distribution of the palms of South Africa with special reference to
Borassus
in the Transvaal.
South African Journal of Science
48
FRIEDRICH-HOLZHAMMER, M. 1967.
Arecaceae
.
Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika
161
TOMLINSON, P.B. 1962. Palms of Africa.
Principes
6
UHL, N. & DRANSFIELD, J.W. 1987.
Genera palmarum
. International Palm Society and Allen Press, Lawrence KS
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