Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of
Arecaceae (
Arecaceae) in various
Genus with leaves that are palmately lobed (rather than
compound). Most are members of the
subfamily Coryphoideae, though a few genera in subfamily
Calamoideae (
Mauritia,
Mauritiella and
Lepidocaryum) also have palmate leaves. Fan palm genera include:
Fan palm can also be used as part of the common name of particular genera or species. Among the palms commonly known as fan palms are:
-
Chamaerops (European fan palm)
-
Hyphaene petersiana (Real fan palm)
-
Livistona (Chinese fan palm and others)
-
Washingtonia (California fan palm, Mexican fan palm)
-
Latania (Indian Ocean fan palms)
The travellers palm ( Ravenala madagascariensis), Phenakospermum ( P. guyannense), white bird of paradise ( Strelitzia nicolai), and New Guinea fan palm ( Cordyline fruticosa) are sometimes called fan palms, because of their leaves' distinctive shape; however none are members of the palm family (Arecaceae).
See also
