Palmetum


A palmetum is a collection of palms and not a natural population of palms. Most palmeta are botanical gardens specialized in growing, research, conserve and display species of the family Arecaceae.

History

Palmeta as palm collections started within the tropical botanical gardens of colonial times, in the 18th and 19th centuries, where plants belonging to the palm family were often grouped. This is the case of Botanical Garden of Buitenzorg and Royal Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya in. In modern times many botanical institutions started a new palmetum.

Places

Some of the most important palm collections are located within the Botanical Garden of Caracas, in Venezuela, Jardín Botánico Francisco Javier Clavijero, in Mexico, the Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, Montgomery Botanical Center and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, both in Florida and Lyon Arboretum in Hawaii.