A Palm Tree is much like a human
- dorpfelds
- Sep 24, 2023
- 2 min read
I love palm trees! Probably because it reminds me of my home in South Florida, where it is warm, tropical, and sunny most of the time. I used to live in a climate with seasonal changes up north in PA, where palm trees don't grow - but evergreens and many different species of trees grow. The plus side was when fall came up north, it was a treat to see the many different vibrant colors of the trees.
What makes a palm tree a palm tree (short answer)?
It’s an evergreen tree (yup) with no branches but instead a bunch of long feathered shaped leaves crowning the top. They grow in warm regions, and there are about 2,600 species worldwide. (1)
There are many different palm tree varieties to love in Florida, some are shaped like fans, or pineapples, while others are shaped with cascading, long, feathery fronds. The more south you go, like where I am from, the more tropical the palm trees in Florida get, especially the coconut palm tree!
1. Cabbage Palm (Sabal Palmetto)
Cabbage palm (sabal palmetto, swamp cabbage, common palmetto, cabbage palmetto, blue palmetto) is one of 15 known palmetto palm species native to the southern US, the Bahamas, and Cuba. You can see this palm tree anywhere from southeast North Carolina and Florida to Texas in the US. Some "zone pushers" plant them even in Maryland and Coastal Delaware.
2. Bismarck Palm Tree (Bismarckia Nobilis)
A silver Bismarck palm tree (Bismarckia) is a monotypic genus of flowering palms native to Madagascar.
3. Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix Canariensis)
Canary Island date palm (Canary palm tree, pineapple palm) is a flowering palm that originated in the Canary Islands.
4. Chinese Fan Palm (Livistona Chinensis)
Chinese fan palm (fountain palm) is a subtropical tree that originated in Japan, China, and Taiwan, but successfully naturalized in Florida.
5. Mexican Palm Tree (Washingtonia Robusta)
Mexican palm tree (Mexican washingtonia) is a fast-growing palm tree native to northwestern Mexico but naturalized in Florida and Hawaii. It is an excellent idea to grow this cold-hardy, salt-tolerant palm in a coastal area.
6. Coconut Palm (Cocos Nucifera)
Coconut palm is the only remaining species of the Cocos genus, better known as the tree of life. The term coconut comes from the old Portuguese word coco, meaning ‘skull’ because of the concavity in the fruit shell and similarities to the shape of a skull. Even though this is one of the most massive and fast growing palms in Florida, many people grow it inside until it becomes to large.
We are all humans, with many different shapes, sizes, and colors, and come from many different areas and backgrounds all over the world just like the palm trees that I have described to you here. All of these species of trees live harmoniously together, and learn to thrive in a different environment then from where they came. We see that with human beings as well. There are so many different people, from different areas, from different backgrounds/cultures/religions. It is amazing to see the many different faces in South Florida, and other places as well. We can learn to thrive together and grow in our lives, by respecting both our similarities and our differences.
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