THE WAX PALMS 



By MiRIAil I.. iJOMHAKl) 



Botanist, United States Forest Seri'ice 



[With 4 plates] 



If the plant kingdom were a monarchy in which but a single 

 family of plants had the hereditary right to rule, the palms would 

 unquestionably hold this honored position. The great naturalist, 

 Linnaeus, in a rather whimsical "social" ranking of the plants of the 

 world, placed the palms first, further distinguishing them as Prin- 

 cipes, the f)rinces or rulers, whereas certain other groups were merely 

 plebeians, patricians, and so forth.^ It is interesting to note that 

 this term, Principes, continues to appear from time to time in pub- 

 lications as a synonym for the family name of the palms (Palmae 

 or Palmaceae). Although Linnaeus knew only 15 species, whereas 

 at the present time the family includes from 1,600 to 3,000 Irinds of 

 palms, the discovery of new species has in no way minimized his 

 estimate of their "social" prominence. 



Such high acclaim is not accorded the palms because of unusual 

 evolutionary advance or complicated flower structure. The family 

 is relatively old, and, judging from fossil evidence, seems to have 

 changed scarcely at all for long ages. The eminent paleobotanist 

 Dr. G. R. Wieland, writes me that, "It is not determinable how early 

 the palms began as a distinct type but the time must be set very far 

 back. By Upper Cretaceous time, the gi'oup had reached giantism 

 and adorned the dinosaur landscapes." The flowers are small and 

 relatively simple, being built on the plan of the lilies. It is the gen- 

 eral appearance, the tout ensemble, of the palms which is so striking 

 and distinctive. They are predominantly trees, usually character- 

 ized by a tall, straight, unbranched, beautifully proportioned trunk 

 topped by a massive crown of handsome fanlike or plumelike leaves. 

 To be sure, not all members of the family have this traditional ap- 

 pearance. One genus, which includes the Egyptian doum palm 

 {Hyphaene fhehaica), is unique in that its members have a much- 

 branched trunk. Many palms are vines — a good example of climb- 

 ing palms are the species of Calamus whose stems furnish the com- 



1 Linnaeus, Car. Systema Naturae, ed. 12, vol. 2, pp. 3-4, 1767. 



303 



