Malaysia Palm Trees FDC

Malaysia FDC
Name: Palm Trees
Date of Issue: 19 May 2009

Palms are one of the most well-known and extensively cultivated plant families. Most palms are distinguished by their large, evergreen leaves arranged at the top of an unbranched stem. However, many palms are exceptions to this statement, and palms in fact exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics. Palms also inhabit nearly every type of habitat from rainforests to deserts. However, the majority of the species are tropical or subtropical as few palms can tolerate cold weather.

Palms have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derives from palms. Today, palms are a common feature in botanical gardens or as indoor plants and today, they are widely used in landscaping for their exotic appearance and also due to palms being easy to manage plants.

The types of palm trees featured in the stamps represent merely a small sampling of the vast number of over 400 species of palm trees in Malaysia.

Denominations: (From Left to Right)
50sen: Fan Palm (Licuala grandis)
This solitary fan palm is named after its fan-like leaves which are 50-60 cm in diameter with coarsely toothed edges. The petiol are 70-90 cm long and thorny. Its inflorescence arches 1-2 metre long. Flowers are yellowish whereas the fruits are globose 6-8 mm in diameter, green turning crimson when ripe.

50sen: Fish Tail Palm (Caryota mitis)
This palm is commonly known as Fish Tail Palm due to its fish-tail like leaves. A clump consists of a few stems of up to 3-5 metre high. Its inflorescence is a dense mass hanging downwards. The fruits are globose, 5mm diameter, green turning red when ripe.

50sen: Serdang Palm (Livistona saribus)
This solitary palm can still be found growing wild in the swampy forest. The trunk is straight up to 10-20 metre. The leaves are in fan shape, 1 metre in diameter, with leaflets deeply divided. Its inflorescence is large, up to 1.5 metre, with many branches. Flowers are yellowish whereas the fruits are globose 2cm in diameter, purplish turning black when ripe.