Book excerpt: Landscape palms are a universal symbol of the tropics and are receiving more attention than ever before. In full-color, 102 species of palms are illustrated, and the first section of the book is an encyclopedia of these species. Given are scientific name, common name, subfamily, tribe, origin, hardiness zone, typical height, growth rate, salt and drought tolerance, soil and light requirements, uses, propagation, and more. Characteristics of each palm are listed including leaf size and color, trunk or stem characteristics, flowers and fruits, and other attributes.