272 A TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY 
characteristic tropical and subtropical plants, they are such 
well-known, beautiful, and useful forms as to deserve promi- 
nent mention. The habit of the body is very familiar, 
Fic. 269.—A common fan-palm. 
being a conspicuous feature in every tropical landscape. 
The usually tall, unbranched, columnar trunk bears at its 
summit a crown of huge leaves, which are of either the 
pinnate or the palmate type. Besides these palms, there are 
low forms and branching forms, while the rattan palms 
