Palms of Southern Asia (Princeton Field Guides)

Southern Asia is a vast and ecologically diverse region that extends from the deserts of Afghanistan to the rainforests of Thailand, and is home to a marvelously rich palm flora. Palms of Southern Asia is the only complete field guide to the 43 genera and 352 species of palms and rattans that occur in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. This attractive guide's handsome illustrations and succinct, authoritative, and jargon-free text make identification easy. Each species account includes the correct scientific and common names, and fully describes morphology, habitat, and uses. Featuring a distribution map for most species and 256 full-color photographs, this is also the only field guide to cover the extremely diverse palm flora of Vietnam, and the first to offer a taxonomic overview of the rattan species of Southern Asia.

Palms of Southern Asia is a book of major importance for botanists and an invaluable aid for naturalists and conservationists, and it's the perfect field guide for ecotourists traveling in the region.

• Covers all 352 naturally occurring palms in Southern Asia
• Features full-color photographs of 256 species, many never before illustrated
• Includes a distribution map for most species
• Provides the first taxonomic overview of the rattans of Southern Asia

Palms of Southern Asia is a book of major importance for botanists and an invaluable aid for naturalists and conservationists, and it's the perfect field guide for ecotourists traveling in the region.

• Covers all 352 naturally occurring palms in Southern Asia
• Features full-color photographs of 256 species, many never before illustrated
• Includes a distribution map for most species
• Provides the first taxonomic overview of the rattans of Southern Asia

FOREWORD, by John Dransfield 8

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 9

INTRODUCTION 11

Palm Regions in Southern Asia 11

Layout of the Book 17

Classification of Southern Asian Palms 20

Morphology of Palms 20

Key to the Genera of Palms in Southern Asia 25

THE PALMS OF SOUTHERN ASIA 29

1. Areca 29

2. Arenga 31

3. Bentinckia 36

4. Borassodendron 37

5. Borassus 37

6. Calamus 38

7. Caryota 92

8. Ceratolobus 96

9. Chuniophoenix 97

10. Clinostigma 98

11. Cocos 98

12. Corypha 99

13. Cyrtostachys 101

14. Daemonorops 101

15. Eleiodoxa 109

16. Eugeissona 110

17. Guihaia 111

18. Hyphaene 112

19. Iguanura 112

20. Johannesteijsmannia 115

21. Kerriodoxa 115

22. Korthalsia 116

23. Licuala 119

24. Livistona 131

25. Loxococcus 133

26. Maxburretia 134

27. Myrialepis 135

28. Nannorrhops 135

29. Nenga 136

30. Nypa 137

31. Oncosperma 138

32. Orania 139

33. Phoenix 1

34. Pholidocarpus 143

35. Pinanga 144

36. Plectocomia 155

37. Plectocomiopsis 158

38. Rhapis 159

39. Rhopaloblaste 163

40. Salacca 163

41. Satakentia 165

42. Trachycarpus 166

43. Wallichia 169

APPENDIX: Checklist of Species by Country or Region 175

REFERENCES 183

INDEX OF COMMON NAMES 187

INDEX OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES 191