The palm family, considered to be second only to the grasses among monocotyledonous plants of economic importance, is of immense significance to man, especially among rural communities in the tropics, where wild palms are intensively utilised. The ‘World Checklist of Palms’ is the unique resource that lists all validly published names of palms, providing the source of their publication and indication of which names are currently accepted and which are synonyms. Geographical distribution is also included for all accepted species.