Palm House

THE TALLEST PALMS: Centre Transept

What dictates a planting position under the great central dome of the Palm House is not geography, but sheer height, which cannot be reduced without killing the growing point, or 'heart' of the plant. The many-stemmed peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) is often felled for its edible heart - 'coeur de palmier'.

Palm profiles: • peach palm • babassu palm • coconut palm

Also here are the babassu (Attalea speciosa), used in many ways in central South America; the fast-growing queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana), so popular with landscapers; the American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera) and the pantropical coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) which actually fruits at Kew.

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Back up to: Palm House

Carry on to: Palm House: Africa