Also present in these same sediments is pollen from a rattan palm, Calamus daemonorops , fruit of an Oncosperma and a Sabal , and seeds similar to those of the fishtail palms, Caryota . Many people regard palms as the 'princes' of the plant kingdom. Variation in species numbers arises from disagreement between botanists as to the delineation of species and genus boundaries. Although diverse, variations in palms arise around a basic theme of being perennial, unisexual or bisexual woody plants with a distinctive crown of leaves at the aerial growing end and adventitious roots at the subterranean growing end.
Monocarpic palms produce a single, terminal inflorescence once in their lifetime and then die.
Palm flowers are generally small and individually inconspicuous, but they are often produced enmasse and can be quite showy. Palm seeds usually have a hard seed coat and are often surrounded by a colorful fleshy mesocarp, which makes up the fruit. The stereotypical tropical paradise of a small island or a stretch of white sand beach with overhanging coconut palms is appropriate, since palms reach their greatest proliferation in the tropics and are widely distributed in warmer zones of the world with high levels of rainfall. Where they occur, palms can be a dominant component of the vegetation. In fact, most palm genera contain five or fewer species and monotypic genera are common.