PHILIPPINE PALMS 
By WILLIAM H. BROWN and ELMER D. MERRILL 
INTRODUCTION 
The palm family is well represented in the Philippines, and 
from an economic standpoint is a very important group of plants. 
They furnish alcohol, starch, sugar, oils, fibers, building mate- 
rials, edible fruits and buds, numerous substances used in in- 
dustrial work, and other minor products. 
The species of palms known to be native to the Philippines 
number 123. Besides these there are five widely cultivated spe- 
cies, some of which may be native. More than 100 of the native 
species have not been reported from other countries. 
The one large genus is Calamus, the climbing or rattan palms.. 
Most of the other genera are represented by few species and in 
several cases by a single one. Some of the most important eco- 
nomic palms, such as the coconut palm, are not natives of the 
Philippines, but were introduced in prehistoric times. The 
native species are mostly sylvan. Palms grow from sea level 
to altitudes of at least 2,200 meters. 
There are very few species of palms in the settled areas, but 
they are frequently conspicuous either on account of their 
abundance (coconut palm) or their great size (buri palm). One 
of the very few strictly gregarious species is the nipa palm. 
This occurs over considerable areas of salt-water swamps, to 
the almost entire exclusion of all other vegetation. In a few 
places the buri palm (Corypha) is dominant and gregarious, 
while Livistona cochinchinensis (tarau) is gregarious and occurs 
in immense numbers in the Cagayan valley. The coconut palm 
is artificially gregarious on account of its cultivation over vast 
areas. In ordinary forests, the palms, with the exception of the 
climbing species Calamus and Daemonorops, are not usually 
numerous, most erect palms being of local occurrence. The 
climbing palms (rattans) are usually very numerous and con- 
spicuous in most forests, except where they have been exten- 
sively cut for commercial purposes. In fact, the most con- 
spicuous plants in the ground covering of virgin forests at low 
altitudes often are immature specimens of rattans. 
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