Spermatophyta: Monocotyledonae: Arecales

Arecaceae - Palm family

Palmae

Dransfield, J. (1986) Palmae Flora of Tropical East Africa

Description of the family

Trees, shrubs, rarely climbers. Leaves alternate, usually very large and in terminal rosettes, with a sheathing base; petiole or rhachis often prickly; lamina pinnate, bipinnate (Caryota), palmate, costapalmate or undivided, sometimes with a hastula. Inflorescences axillary, simple to paniculate, with branching up to 4 orders. Flowers usually small, unisexual (when plant is dioecious or monoecious) or bisexual. Calyx and corolla usually in whorls of 3. Stamens usually 6. Ovary superior. Fruit usually a drupe; seed usually 1.

Worldwide: 201 genera and 2,650 species, tropical (but few in Africa) and warm.

Malawi: 5 genera and 5 taxa.

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Links to genera:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

GenusContent
Borassus L.Description
Elaeis Jacq.Description
Hyphaene Gaertn.Description
Phoenix L.Description
Raphia P. Beauv.Description

Other sources of information about Arecaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Arecaceae
Flora of Burundi: Arecaceae
Flora of Caprivi: Arecaceae
Flora of the DRC: Arecaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Arecaceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Arecaceae
Flora of Rwanda: Arecaceae
Flora of Zambia: Arecaceae
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Arecaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: Arecaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Arecaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Arecaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Arecaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Arecaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Arecaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Arecaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Arecaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Arecaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Arecaceae
Wikipedia: Arecaceae
Plants of the World Online: Arecaceae
Tropicos: Arecaceae



Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Malawi: Family page: Arecaceae.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/family.php?family_id=20, retrieved 7 October 2024

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