LEADING FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 341 



312. The Palm family. The palms number about 1100 

 species, principally tropical. Most of the familiar palms have 

 a nearly cylindrical trunk, crowned with a great rosette of 

 pinnately or palmately divided leaves (Fig. 275). Many 



FIG. 276. Flower clusters of the coco palm 



The upper cluster is shown at an early stage, with the staminate flowers still cling- 

 ing to its branches. The lower cluster has lost the staminate flowers and the young 

 coconuts have enlarged considerably. After Freeman and Chandler 



palms are among the most beautiful plants, and no other 

 kind of tree gives such a tropical air to a landscape in which 

 it is abundant. Some, such as the rattan, are lianas, with 

 supple stems hundreds of feet long. The flowers are not 

 usually very conspicuous and are borne in much-branched 



