The first thing we are going to do in order to know the meaning of the term palm tree is to discover its etymological origin. Specifically, we have to establish that it derives from Latin and that it is the result of the union of two lexical components of said language:
-The noun “palma”, which means “palm of the hand”.
-The suffix “-era”, which was used to refer to different types of trees.
A tree from the palm family group that can reach a height of about twenty meters is called a palm tree .
It is interesting to know that the palm tree starts from the noun “palm” because it is considered that the leaves of this tree are wide like that area of the hand and, in addition, they have tips that resemble the fingers of that hand.
Palms, in turn, are monocotyledonous plants (their embryo has a single cotyledon) and angiosperms (their carpels make up an ovary that contains the ovules) whose stem is woody, has no branches and has large leaves in its upper section.
Palm trees have a cylindrical trunk that is characterized by its roughness. Its crown lacks branches and displays petiolate and pointed leaves up to four meters long. Its flowers , meanwhile, have a yellowish hue.
The fruit of the palm tree is the date , the flesh of which is edible. Dates grow in clusters that are located under the leaves, on both sides of the trunk of the palm tree.
Beyond this definition, in colloquial language other trees of the palm family are often called palm trees. The palmetto and the coconut tree , in this framework, are also palm trees.
Palm trees grow mainly in subtropical and tropical regions, although they can appear in temperate and even desert areas. They generally require a high level of humidity .
It is important to mention that palm trees have great economic importance. Food , fiber, oils and resources are obtained from these trees for the manufacture of multiple products, including homes.
The place where the palm trees grow is referred to as a palm grove , while the group of palm trees is a palm grove . The El Palmar National Park and Reserve , for example, is located in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos and is characterized by being one of the northernmost natural palm groves in the world .
One of the most important palm groves in Spain is located in the Alicante city of Elche. It is also known as Huertos de Palmeras de Elche, it is the largest palm grove in all of Europe as well as one of the most significant in the world. It has between 200,000 and 300,000 palm trees and the most abundant is the so-called “Phoenix dactylifera”, which was the one that centuries ago the Arabs took to the Iberian Peninsula.
It is also interesting to note that it has been declared a World Heritage Site since 2000, that it has an area of 500 hectares and that among its most special species is the so-called Imperial Palm Tree. This was named in honor of Empress Isabella of Bavaria, better known as Sissi, who visited the Palmeral back in 1894.