Palm Garden
Palms represent the only large group of tree-sized monocotyledons - that division of flowering plants characterised by a single seed leaf, parallel veined leaves and flowers parts in threes or multiples of three. Many palms are single trunked and will die if the growth shoot at the apex of the trunk is destroyed. The leaves are usually divided (pinnate or palmate), a few having simple, undivided leaves. The flowers are mostly small and inconspicuous, however, the fruit can be large and colourful. Palms may occur as male and female plants (dioecious), or with separate male and female flowers on the same inflorescence (monoecious) or they may have bisexual flowers.
Date and Coconut palms as well as a few others produce edible fruit. Sago, palm sugar and wine, palm cabbage, coconut, coir fibre, raffia, oils and waxes are some of the products of palms.
Most palms are tropical in origin and many do not survive in our temperate climate. The 30 or so species in this collection represent about half of those occurring naturally in Australia. Included are species in the genus Livistona, (Cabbage Palms), L. australis, which occurs locally, L. rigida from the Roper River in the Northern Territory, L. decipens from the central Queensland coast and L. sp."Cape River", a species from the Charters Towers area, L. muelleri and L. drudei, are both from north-eastern Queensland, L. sp. "Carnarvon Gorge" and L. sp. "Blackdown Tablelands" both from Queensland; Archontophoenix species, including the local A. cunninghamiana (Bangalow Palm); Linospadix species (the small Walking stick palms) and the related, but somewhat larger, Laccospadix australasica from the highlands of North Queensland; Normanbya normanbyi (the Queensland Black Palm with plume-like leaves); Wodyetia bifurcata (Foxtail Palm); Licuala ramsayi (Queensland Fan Palm) and a Ptychosperma species from the wet tropics of Cape York.
Included also are two species from Lord Howe Island, Howea forsteriana and H. belmoreana, (the "Kentia" palms); the Norfolk Island palm Rhopalostylis baueri, and the related R. sapida, the most southern naturally occuring palm from New Zealand.
