Big or small, palms are the aristocrats of the plant kingdom. Check these beauties out

Two botanical luminaries – Carl Linnaeus and David Fairchild – never met, but both were stunned by the beauty of palms, considering them the best the plant kingdom had to offer.

Linnaeus (1707-1778) devised a simple yet elegant means for naming and classifying plants and animals – a system still used today. He regarded palms as "the princes of the plant kingdom." Fairchild (1869-1954) spent his life scouring the planet for beneficial plants, from grasses to forest trees. He wrote extensively about his travels and was at his most eloquent when describing palms he’d encountered.

As is plain from the common and scientific names bestowed on numerous palms, other folks also deem them plant royalty. A good example is Bismarck palm (Bismarckia nobilis), a massive fan-leaved species from Madagascar most often seen in a silver-leaved form. It was named to honor Baron von Bismarck, who served as German chancellor from 1871 to 1890. Sun and sand constitute the recipe for success for this magnificent, cold-hardy plant, which even as a juvenile specimen steals the show.

Also from Madagascar, but thriving in radically different conditions, is majesty palm (Ravenea rivularis), a single-trunked, feather-leaved species. In Central Florida, majesties – especially young plants – revel on moist sites in filtered light. Interestingly, for a plant that can reach 40 feet in height, majesty palm does well as a houseplant.

Continuing our run of royalty is queen palm, a cold-hardy, feather-leaved species from Brazil. Although targeted by overzealous native-plant boosters because it self-sows, this palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) poses no threat to our environment. Up to 40 feet tall in sun or moderate shade, specimens on enriched and mulched sites grow rapidly, while plants in poor soil often demonstrate nutritional deficiencies. In addition, queen palms are somewhat susceptible to lethal bronzing disease.

A native species with a distinctly aristocratic bearing is Florida royal palm (Roystonia elata), a superb species suitable only for moist, sunny sites in warm, sheltered locations. Even coconut palms can’t compete with well-grown royals.

Vastly different is lady palm (as in lords and ladies), a small, clumping species (Rhapis excelsa) from East Asia. Notable for its elegance, this shade-loving, pinnate plant grows up to eight feet tall on enriched sites. Extremely cold hardy and low-maintenance, lady palm should be grown much more widely.

Mandarin hatThis Himalayan shrub is easy to grow and its flowers are irresistible to butterflies

A bit too cold-sensitive for Central Florida is King Alexander palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae), aka king palm. This Australian species – up to 40 feet tall in bright light – bears lustrous arching leaves that contain 100 or more leaflets.

Plant to ponder: Violet wood sorrel

This non-native Oxalis features charming pink or lavender blossoms from spring through autumn. Plants (O. violacea) form mounds up to 16 inches tall on moist sites in bright, filtered light. Propagate with seeds, which are available online.