Palms of Southern Asia

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

"This is truly a field guide with descriptions that give field characters that will make it easy to identify species. . . . This is a guide that is obviously based on extensive field work by the author and is user friendly. A most useful addition for anyone interested in palms."---Ghillean Prance, Biologist

"This field guide by Henderson includes all 352 naturally occurring palm species in the region ranging from Afghanistan to Japan, south through India and Thailand. . . . The book is well organized and designed, and certainly small enough for fieldwork."

"This is a very well-organized field guide. It is clear in its presentation of the facts and the language is without unnecessary complications. The science behind this popular presentation is very sound. The descriptions in general are very concise."—Henrik Balslev, University of Aarhus, Denmark