Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms in various genera with leaves that are palmately (rather than pinnately) compound. Among these genera are:
- Bismarckia
- Borassus
- Coccothrinax
- Copernicia
- Hyphaene
- Licuala
- Pritchardia
- Rhapidophyllum
- Rhapis
- Sabal
- Thrinax
- Trachycarpus
- Trithrinax
Fan palm can also be used as part of the common name of particular genera or species. Among the palms commonly known as fan palms are:
- Chamaerops (European fan palm)
- Hyphaene petersiana (Real fan palm)
- Livistona (Chinese fan palm and others)
- Washingtonia (California fan palm, Mexican fan palm)
- Latania (Indian Ocean fan palms)
The Travellers palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) is often called a fan palm because of its distinctive shape; however it is not a true palm.
Famous quotes containing the words fan and/or palm:
“Being a [Chicago] Cubs fan prepares you for life—and Washington.”
—Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1947)
“The oft-repeated Roman story is written in still legible characters in every quarter of the Old World, and but today, perchance, a new coin is dug up whose inscription repeats and confirms their fame. Some “Judæa Capta,” with a woman mourning under a palm tree, with silent argument and demonstration confirms the pages of history.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)