These palms vary in height, ranging from 6 to 40 m (20 to 131 ft).[5] The leaves are fan-shaped (costapalmate) and the trunk columnar, naked, smooth or fibrous, longitudinally grooved, and obscurely ringed by leaf scars. The flowers and subsequent fruit are borne in a terminal cluster with simple or compound branches of an arcuate or pendulous inflorescence that (in some species) is longer than the leaves.
Species
There are 29 known species, of which 19 are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with the remainder on other island groups. Many are critically endangered.
Oahu has the most named Pritchardia species of any of the Hawaiian islands, with nine named species on record in 1980. Eight of those species can be found in the rainy Koolau Range.[6]
Licuala grandis (hort. ex W. Bull) H.Wendl. (as P. grandis hort. ex W. Bull) (Vanuatu)
Washingtonia filifera (Linden ex André) H.Wendl. (as P. filamentosa H.Wendl. ex Franceschi or P. filifera Linden ex André)[8] (Southwestern United States and Baja California)
Relationship with humans
Native Hawaiians (who call them loulu or noulu) often plant the trees in their traditional homes.[9] They often consume their seeds (known as hāwane or wāhane) raw,[10] use their trunk wood as building material and leaves as roof thatching in houses and temples.[9]