Palms

Where to find palms at Kew

The Palm House at Kew Gardens is home to possibly the most diverse collection of palms to be found in a glasshouse anywhere in the world. Visitors can walk amongst specimens that rise up into the high roof-space, and a special treat is to take the spiral staircase up to the gallery and look out across the canopy.

You will find the well-known coconut, as well as other economically important palms such as the peach palm and a number of rattans. Of course palms are also wonderfully attractive plants, and ones to look out for are the coco-de-mer, with its record-breaking seed, and the vivid red stems of the sealing wax palm.

In the Temperate House you will find possibly the word's tallest glasshouse plant, a Chilean wine palm raised from seed in 1846. Other notable palms include specimens of Livistona chinensis and Chamaerops humilis, both planted by George V in 1926.

About palms at Kew

Chilean wine palm - a record breaker in the Temperate House

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On to: Chilean wine palm