Some palm fronds do have thorns although not all palm fronds contain or have thorns.
Many palm species have spines or even thorns on their fronds also known as leaves, stems and or trunks.
The thorns that palms have protect them from predators and can be a defense mechanism while the palm tree is still young and small enough to be eaten.
The palms that have thorns are Phoenix palms, Livistona palms, Brahea palms, Acanthophoenix crinita and Trithrinax campestris.
The fronds of a palm tree are the leaves of the palm tree.
Fronds on palm trees are an important part of the palm trees structure as well as appearance and are also responsible for photosynthesis.
Fronds on palm trees can be feather like, fan shaped or other shapes.
Palm tree fronds are often green but can also be silvery or bluish in color and the size of fronds can range from a few feet long to several yards long but it depends on the species of palm tree.
The two types of fronds are fertile fronds and sterile fronds.
Fertile fronds are the specialized fronds which bear sporangia which is spore producing structures and are involved in reproduction.
The sterile fronds are the typical leafy fronds that are responsible for vegetative growth and photosynthesis.
Immature fronds are called fiddleheads.
After the new fronds emerge which is often in the spring they then unroll and are called fiddleheads.
Fiddleheads are the edible young fern fronds also known as crosiers that rise from the plant every year in the spring.
If allowed to mature, the green disks or immature fronds will gradually unfurl themselves into the broadly splayed fronds of a typical fern.
Due to their short harvesting season, fresh fiddleheads are a rarity in North America and are therefore usually quite expensive and are considered a delicacy.
The fiddlehead fronds have been and still is an important food and medicine for Asians, Native Americans and many other people all throughout the world.
Some other parts of the ferns or fronds are also edible like the rhizome which are also edible and the mature fronds can also be used many different ways.
Fiddleheads are a seasonal vegetable which can be cooked and eaten.
The fiddleheads that are edible are the Ostrich Fern, Cinnamon Fern and Lady Fern.
Fiddleheads tend to taste like asparagus or broccoli, spinach or green beans.
You can cook the fiddleheads by boiling them in water and then discarding the water.