Palm trees belong to a major group, or class, of flowering plants called monocots. Grass is a fellow member of the monocot class, and so are corn, rice, lilies, and orchids. You might be surprised to learn that palm trees are in the same plant class as grass.

Are palm trees a tree or grass?

According to the botanical definition, palms are not trees but large, woody herbs. For botanists studying classification of plants, this makes sense because palms are classified as herbs, like their close relatives: grasses, bamboos, bananas, and sedges.

Are all palm trees grasses?

Palm trees, of which more than 2,000 species exist, are grouped botanically with grasses, sedges, bamboo, grains, lilies, onions, and orchids. In fact, as it turns out, a palm tree has more in common genetically with turf grass or corn than it has with an oak tree! A palm tree is truly a grass giant!