INTRODUCTION 
This is the fifth in this series of booklets arid 
it describes and illustrates Ten Palms. No. 1 des- 
cribed and illustrated Ten Flowering Shrubs, No. 
2 len Flowering Trees, No, 3 Ten Orchids and 
No. 4 Ten Flowering Climbers. 
Palms, which are most abundant in the warm 
regions of the world, form a natural and easily 
recognised group of plants, although tiiey show 
very considerable variation in form. Some have 
tall, columnar trunks, either in clumps or singly, 
some have long, slender, climbing stems, such as 
the rattans, and some have short stems or none 
at ail. The flowers of palms are generally small 
and inconspicuous and not decorative, although 
they are often produced in great quantities. The 
fruits vary greatly in size, from small, pea-like 
berries to the large fruits of the coconut and the 
enormous ones of a Seychelles palm called 
Lodaicea, which may weigh 40 pounds. The 
smaller fruits are often brightly coloured. 
The foliage of palms is of two general kinds — 
feather-veined leaves, or pinnate leaves, in which 
the veins run out sideways from a central midrib; 
and fan-veined leaves, in which the veins radiate 
from a common centre. Both kinds are usually 
more or less split up into narrow segments. 
The economic importance of the Palm Family 
is well known. One has but to recall the coconut 
palm, the palmyra palm, the sago palm and the 
oil palm to be reminded of this. Other useful 
products of the family are canes and rattans, 
various thatching materials, sugar, fibres, resins 
