Licuala

Licuala is a genus of palms, in the tribe Trachycarpeae, commonly found in tropical forests of southern China, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, New Guinea and the western Pacific Ocean islands. They are fan palms, with the leaves mostly circular in outline, sometimes undivided but more usually divided into wedge-shaped segments. Licuala acutifida is the source of cane for the walking stick nicknamed the Penang-lawyer by colonials, probably from the Malay phrase pinang liyarcode: msa promoted to code: ms for a wild areca, although the term may also refer to the use of these canes as deadly knobkerries to assassinate litigious enemies. Several species of Licuala have been transferred into a new genus Lanonia. Approximately 150 species are recognized.