11 Little-Known Facts About Palm Trees For Curious Kids

Have you seen any tall palm trees on beaches and in rainforests?

Palm trees have been around for more than a century. They are what you will call great grandparents in terms of origin.

These trees are also very tall sometimes; not all of them, though. The palm tree is the national tree of Cambodia. These trees are more than just a pretty background for your beach photos. The palm tree comes with many benefits and uses, many of which you might not be even aware of. Let's dive into the world of palm trees and get to know more about the beautiful palm tree. Read on to know more facts about palm trees. Afterward, also read some fascinating Florida facts and facts about Cuba.

Importance Of The Palm Tree

Palm trees are seen in tropical forests looking so tall. But they are not just significant for their height. There are many things in a palm tree that make it important. What is the importance of palm trees?

Palm trees have great religious importance. Palm trees are seen as symbols in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Both the bible and the Quran refer to palm trees. Palm Sunday celebrated by Christians has a palm tree reference. In Judaism, palms symbolize peace and plenty.

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil that comes from palm trees. Palm oil is used in many products. It is also high in vitamin A, a vitamin that helps reduce body cholesterol. Apart from palm oil, palm wine is also made from palm trees.

The palm tree is also used for construction. House walls, rafters, and roofing are made using palm trees. Brooms and baskets are also made using palms. Palm tree leaves are used to make pretty roofs. Coconuts from palms are very familiar to us. But palm trees also give us betel nuts, dates, and acai fruit.

Palm trees also play an important role in climate regulation. Hot climates of areas that palms grow in are turned into cooler climates with the help of palm trees.

Types Of Palm Trees

We may be commonly aware of the coconut palm tree seen on the beach. But that is not the only palm tree seen in the world. There are over 2,500 different species of palm tree seen around the world.

Some types of palm trees are the royal palm, the cane palm, the MacArthur palm, the Butia palm, the sago palm, the date palm, the wine palm, the acai palm, the peach palm, the oil palm, the foxtail palm, the needle palm, the wax palm, the yucca palm, and many more. The list just goes on and on.

Most palms are categorized on the basis of their height. There are dwarf palms and tall palms. The tallest species of palm trees are wax palms. Compared to other palms, wax palm trees can grow to as high as 200 ft (60.9 m). Another way to identify palm trees is by the palm tree fruit that we get. Date palms give dates, coconut palms give coconuts and the acai palm gives the acai berry.

Other than the height, palm fronds of the different types of palm trees growing on the Earth can also vary from each other. Most palm trees carry palm fronds that are large and compound. There are no specific palm branches for these trees.

Other facts about palm trees that are unique include that the palm branch is normally considered to be the single unbranched stem of the tree and that the commercial value of palm trees has risen significantly in the last few years as the demand for palm tree oil has witnessed a steady increase across the world.

How fast do palm trees grow?

Among the various facts about palm trees, the height of the palm tree is an interesting topic to discuss. In botanical gardens, you can see this tree tall and high up. The wild palm tree grows very tall. You will also find palms that are small.

Plant palm trees that are small in height are normally seen indoors, such as in a house. Dwarf palms are a popular indoor plant among people.

How fast do palm trees grow? This mainly depends on the type of palms.

Palms that are small in size have a slower growth rate compared to other palm trees. Wild palms have a high growth rate. The main contributing factor for their growth is sunlight. The more sunlight palms get, the faster they will grow. This is why you see most tall palms on the beach and other areas where the amount of sunlight received is high. These trees not only survive but also thrive in these locations.

Palm Tree Scientific Name

Palm trees are from the botanical family called Arecaceae. There are many species of palm trees in the world and the scientific name of each of them is different. We will discuss the scientific name of some common palms.

Firstly, the common scientific name of a palm tree is Arecaceae. The coconut palm tree is called Cocos nucifera. The date palm tree is called Phoenix dactylifera. Euterpe oleracea is the acai palm tree. Wax palms are Cyrtostachys renda. The Arecaceae family is commonly called the palm family. It is a flowering plant family. Due to these trees being shapes like a palm, they are called palm trees.

You can see tiny flowers on a palm tree. Woody vines, the tall height, and flowers of a palm tree make it a beautiful piece of scenery. In some places, palm trees grow together as a group but they are also seen growing as a single tree too.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about palm trees then why not take a look at facts about Earth or facts about Jupiter.