The systematic biology of the palm family (Arecaceae) is probably better known than that of
any other tropical plant family of comparable size. As a result, the palms are now regarded …

Background With more than 90 published studies of pollination mechanisms, the palm family
is one of the better studied tropical families of angiosperms. Understanding palm–pollinator …

Friedman WE, RC Moore, and MD Purugganan. 2004. The evolution of plant development.
Am. J. Bot. 91: 1726–1741. Friis EM, PR Crane, and KP Pedersen. 1997. Fossil history of …

Palms are tropical miracles. Heinrich Heine, the German poet, stated" Unter den Palmen
wandert man nicht ungestraft", ie, one does not wander unpunished under the palms. It was …

Published phylogeny reconstructions of the palm family (Arecaceae) are based on plastid
DNA sequences or restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), nuclear DNA …

Morphological and anatomical fruit characters are used for description of morphogenetic fruit
types within eight traditional fruit types–follicle, nutlet, drupe, berry, capsule, pyrenarium …

Plant traits are critical to plant form and function—including growth, survival and
reproduction—and therefore shape fundamental aspects of population and ecosystem …

Palms are an economically important group of plants and support major agronomic and
horticultural industries, quite apart from their regional use in the cultures of many tropical …

Animal-mediated seed dispersal by frugivorous birds and mammals is central to the ecology
and functioning of ecosystems, but whether and how frugivory-related traits have affected …

Plastid DNA sequences evolve slowly in palms but show that the family is monophyletic and
highly divergent relative to other major monocot clades. It is therefore difficult to place the …