Arecaceae

Fruit usually indehiscentindehiscent:
not opening on its own, as in a fruit
, berryberry:
an indehiscent, fleshy fruit with one or a few to many seeds. The flesh may be homogenous throughout. Or, if the outer part is hard, firm, or leathery, referred to as an hesperidium. Septa are present in some, and the seeds may be arillate or with a fleshy testa.
, drupedrupe:
(indehiscent drupe) a fleshy, indehiscent fruit with one more hard pits enclosing seeds; (dehiscent drupe) a fruit with a dry or fibrous to fleshy or leathery outer husk that early to tardily breaks apart (or opens), exposing one or more nutlike pits enclosing the seeds
, or nutnut:
a fairly large, indehiscent, dry fruit with a thick and bony wall surrounding a single seed
, 6–800 mm long, shape variable from hemisphericalhemispherical:
2D shape—shaped like half a sphere
to angularangular:
2D shape—having sides that meet at acute or obtuse angles  
, tereteterete:
approximately circular in cross section; width and thickness approximately equal
in transectiontransection:
a cross section; representing a plane made by cutting across an organ at a right angle to its length
, often with persistent stylestyle:
in a flower, the narrow and elongated part of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary; sometimes persisting in fruit
and/or beakedbeaked:
a usually firm, terminal appendage, sometimes tapered
. BerriesBerries:
an indehiscent, fleshy fruit with one or a few to many seeds. The flesh may be homogenous throughout. Or, if the outer part is hard, firm, or leathery, referred to as an hesperidium. Septa are present in some, and the seeds may be arillate or with a fleshy testa.
one or sometimes 2–3(–10) seeded. Fruits are typically simplesimple:
fruit formed from a single flower with one pistil, solitary carpel or several fused carpels
, but aggregateaggregate:
fruit formed from a single flower with carpels several and distinct
fruits occur in several genera. Fruits sometimes with persistent sepalssepals:
a member of the outer envelope of a flower (calyx)
, petalspetals:
a member of the inner envelope of a flower (corolla)
, imbricated scales, and/or staminodal ring. Pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
black, brown, green, white, blue, orange, red, or yellow, shinyshiny:
uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles
or dulldull:
reflecting only a low proportion of incident light, with no apparent sheen
, fleshyfleshy:
texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut
or indurateindurate:
texture—hardened or stony; yielding under strong pressure; not deformable without internal structural disruption
, glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
or pubescentpubescent:
surface relief—bearing hairs
, smooth, scaly, fibrousfibrous:
texture—long, flexible threads, thicker than hairs, that densely cover and obscure the surface
, wartywarty:
surface relief—distinct, rounded projections that are large relative to the fruit size; tuberculate, verrucose
, wrinkledwrinkled:
surface relief—shallow, irregular folds and furrows covering the surface; appearing overall though crumpled and then spread out
, or spinyspiny:
having slender, stiff, sharp projections oriented in the general plane of the structure
. Often the outer layers (epicarp and mesocarpmesocarp:
the middle layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
) are shed early and only the endocarpendocarp:
the inner layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
is present at dispersal. In fruits with differentiated endocarps, endocarps are thinthin:
having or being of relatively little depth
(sometimes with opercula) to bonybony:
very hard and rather brittle, like bone
or thickthick:
having or being of relatively great depth
and woodywoody:
consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
(often with 1–3 pores). 

Seed globose globose:
3D shape—more or less spherical
to kidney shapedkidney shaped:
2D shape—broadly elongate and with one margin convex and the opposite side concave, each end bluntly rounded
, tereteterete:
approximately circular in cross section; width and thickness approximately equal
to plano-convexplano-convex:
2D or 3D shape—flat on one side, convex on the other
in transectiontransection:
a cross section; representing a plane made by cutting across an organ at a right angle to its length
, 3–50+ mm long, prominent operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
or micropylar plug, and often with conspicuous rapheraphe:
a ridge or seam on the seed coat, formed by the portion of the funiculus united to the ovule wall in longitudinally curved ovules
variable in shape. Hilumhilum:
on seeds, the scar indicating where the funiculus was attached; on grass caryopses, the scar visible on the outer caryopsis surface revealing where the seed is attached on the inner fruit wall surface; or in Asteraceae cypselae, the scar visible on the pericarp revealing where the fruit was attached to the receptacle
small to the length of the seed, located apically, laterally, or basalbasal:
at or pertaining to the point of attachment; (of embryo) embryo occupies one end of the seed
and shaped from linearlinear:
(shape) long, narrow, and uniform in width; (of embryo) embryo is straight and much longer than wide
to circularcircular:
(of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an "O" shape
. Several genera have seeds with a sarcotestasarcotesta:
pulpy or fleshy outer layer of the seed coat, simulates aril
. Seed coat brown, shinyshiny:
uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles
, leatheryleathery:
texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable
or membranousmembranous:
texture—extremely thin, pliable, and fairly tough
, smooth or variously ornamented. 

Embryo well developed, cylindricalcylindrical:
3D shape—a cylinder, with parallel sides and a circular cross-section; tubular or rod-shaped
or conical, curvedcurved:
(of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an arch or horseshoe with the ends far apart
or straight, embedded in endospermendosperm:
nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds
. Endospermendosperm:
nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds
copious, cartilaginouscartilaginous:
texture—firm, dense, tough, somewhat pliable, and resilient, like cartilage
or hard, homogenous or ruminateruminate:
testa or seed coat folded into the endosperm
.

*For keys to the subfamilies, tribes, and genera as well as images and illustrations representing these groups, see Dransfield et al. 2008Dransfield et al. 2008:
Dransfield J, Uhl NW, Asmussen CB, Baker W, Harley MM, and Lewis CE. 2008. Genera Palmarum: The Evolution and Classification of Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London UK. 732 pp. https://doi.org/10.34885/92. This book is publicly available. Or, for identifying commonly cultivated palms, see Identifying Commonly Cultivated Palms.