How do palms grow? Palms grow in two general patterns: solitary or clustering

Solitary palms: have one apical meristem, or growing point.

inflorescences from the bud found directly above each leaf

new leaves are produced at the top of the palm

Clustering palms: have one apical meristem, or growing point per stem.

buds grow out to form new stems

Supported by National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.

Most palms that you know do not branch above ground. The trunk is tall and straight, like a column.

The examples below are both solitary palms.

Royal palms - old leaves fall cleanly from the trunk leaving only rings of leaf scars.

Bailey palms (Copernecia baileyana) -Each solitary stem is a single plant.

Clump of the Everglades palm (Acoelorrhaphe) with a new stem being held.

In clustering palms (that form clumps of stems), the new stems arise at ground level.

Syagrus clump with a young new stem

The cluster of many stems is really one plant of a Syagrus palm.

Buds at the base of older stems form new stems or suckers.

In reality, these new stems are “branches” of the old stems, but develop underground and are not recognized as branches.

The stems of the cluster are attached together and are part of one plant.

Above ground, all buds in palms grow out as new flower stalks (inflorescences) that form flowers and fruit, and then fall off the stem. If flower stalks are not formed, the buds abort.

Fishtail palm - Finger points to a bud directly above the leaf scar.

Dictyosperma palm with inflorescence developing from a bud below the crown of green leaves.

Gumbo Limbo (Bursera) tree with new branches that grow out after the top of the trunk was cut off. Dormant buds grew out after the stem was damaged.

If a broad leaved tree trunk is cut off, dormant buds can grow out as new branches.

If a palm trunk is cut off or the top is injured, there are no dormant buds and new branches do not grow. Above ground, buds either form flower stalks (inflorescences) or the buds abort.

Three stems of Dypsis palm with no branching after the tops were damaged. There were no dormant buds present.

Woodpeckers have taken advantage of the dead tree and made a nest.

Trunk cut mark

The stems of only a few palms fork above ground and can be immediately recognized as branching. One such palm is Hyphaene, a native of Africa.

The Hyphaene palm was pictured in ancient Egyptian wall paintings along with the date palm. Date palms do not fork but form new shoots at the base of their trunks.

Hyphaene palm - This desert palm normally forks above ground to form branches. Pygmy date palm with abnormal

branches and distorted stems.