My dendrology teacher stated that a palm tree isn't a tree. Can anyone explain why this is true?

Question

Is it because they don't go through secondary growth?

Answer 1

The following information is retrieved from wikipedia .

Read it and draw your own conclusion.

For me palm tree ( You should have been more specific . I presume that you mean Coconut and its elk) is always a tree .

1 ) Herbs ==Herbs are seed-bearing plants without woody stems, which die down to the ground after flowering. They have a shorter life span.

see pictures of a herb==
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Herbs.jpg
http://www.friendsofcolonialpemaquid.org/Photos/382%20Herb%20Garden.jpg

Banana is a herb==
http://www.inibap.org/images/herb.gif

PALMS DO NOT FIT IN THE ABOVE CATEGORY.

2 ) Shrub == A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m (15-20 ft) tall.

A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience.

Small, low shrubs such as lavender, periwinkle and thyme are often termed subshrubs.

A natural plant community dominated by shrubs is called a shrubland.

An area of cultivated shrubs in a park or garden is known as a shrubbery.

When clipped as topiary, shrubs generally have dense foliage and many small leafy branches growing close together.

Many shrubs respond well to renewal pruning, in which hard cutting back to a 'stool' results in long new stems known as "canes". Other shrubs respond better to selective pruning to reveal their structure and character. They have a long life span .

see a shrub==
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cytisus_scoparius2.jpg
http://www.ontariowildflower.com/images/red_berried_elder_shrub.jpg
PALMS DO NOT FIT HERE EITHER .


3 ) Tree ==A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is sometimes defined as a woody plant that attains diameter of 10 cm (30 cm girth) or more at breast height (130 cm above ground).

However, there is no set agreement regarding minimum size, the term generally applies to plants that grow to at least 5-6 meters (15-20 ft) high at maturity[citation needed] and having secondary branches supported on a main stem or stems, called a trunk. Most trees exhibit clear apical dominance, though this is not always the case.

Compared with most other plants, trees are long-lived, some of them getting to be several thousand years old and growing to up to 115 meters (375 ft) high.

Morphology==

Leaves are an important feature of trees. These are Beech leaves.
Tree roots anchor the structure and provide water and nutrients.

The ground has eroded away around the roots of this young Pine tree.

The basic parts of a tree are the roots, trunk(s), branches, twigs and leaves.

Tree stems consist mainly of support and transport tissues (xylem and phloem). Wood consists of xylem cells, and bark is made of phloem and other tissues external to the vascular cambium.

Trees may be broadly grouped into exogenous and endogenous trees according to the way in which their stem diameter increases.

Exogenous trees, which comprise the great majority of modern trees (all conifers, and all broadleaf trees), grow by the addition of new wood outwards, immediately under the bark.


Endogenous trees, mainly in the monocotyledons (e.g., palms), grow by addition of new material inwards.

NOTE THE EXAMPLE QUOTED IN ABOVE PARA.

Major tree genera IN THE MONOCOTYLEDONS ONLY WHERE PALMS BELONG==

Monocotyledons (Liliopsida)

Coconut Palm, (a monocotyledonous tree)
Cabbage tree, Cordyline australis
Dragon tree, Dracaena draco
Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Arecaceae (Palmae) (Palm family) ===
Areca Nut, Areca catechu
Coconut Cocos nucifera
Date Palm, Phoenix dactylifera
Chusan Palm, Trachycarpus fortunei
Poaceae (grass family)
Bamboos Poaceae subfamily Bambusoideae


Note that banana 'trees' are not actually trees; they are not woody nor is the stalk perennial.


see tree==
http://www.penwith.co.uk/natasha/tree.jpg

http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Miska-Slock/Coconut-Palm-Tree-Anini-Beach-Kauai-Hawaii-Poster-C11743723.jpeg

PALMS FIT HERE UNDOUBTEDLY.

Answer 2

Well, a "tree" is any plant with a secondary meristem (yes, I know that's not *exactly* true, but I'm trying to keep it simple- what can I say, I'm a lumper). The secondary meristem provides girth growth... and results in the rings you see in tree cross section. Palms don't have the rings.

Now, that holds up only as long as you want to be really technical. If, to you, a tree is anthyng that's green and big enough- and looks tree-ish- then by all means you can call it a tree. Everyone does it. But, not all scientists will agree with you. It's like calling large water mammals "fish." If your definition of a "fish" is that it swims and lives in water a lot, then it doesn't matter if it is a beaver or a whale, you could eat it during Lent. But ichthiologists won't appreciate it.

Answer 3

Technically tea bags do advance on wood. The wood in question are observed as in Latin "Brewacuppa" and are in fact miniature wood accomplishing not extra helpful than 3 feet in precise. they have been first have been given here upon in Burma indoors the mid nineteenth Century via utilising a beverage hunter who went via utilising the call Tetley. He extra them back to England the area finally, with Royal consent, they have been provided to the prevalent public. they have been a roaring achievement ever because of the fact.

Answer 4

Palms, if I remember correctly, are grasses. Like Bamboo or Rattan.