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Which tropical regions have the greatest diversity of palm species?

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Dense grove of acai palm trees (Euterpe oleracea) with slender trunks and abundant green fronds growing on Combu Island in Belem, Para, Brazil. — Palm Wild acai palms (*Euterpe oleracea*) growing on Combu Island in Belem, state of Para in Brazil.

The greatest diversity of palm species is found within the mixed tropical and subtropical forests of both the American and Asian tropics.1

Specifically, the regions richest in palm species include:

The Americas: The rainforests of Central and South America are highly diverse. Notably, the Chocó region of western Colombia and the western part of the Antioquia region in northwestern Colombia host extraordinary numbers of palms.1
Asia: The lowland rainforests of New Guinea and the Sunda Islands are centers of high species richness. Parts of the island of Borneo also contain extraordinary numbers of palms, such as the Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysia, which features 111 species representing 20 genera.1

While these areas are the primary centers of abundance, palms are widely distributed across tropical and subtropical zones, generally between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, where they thrive in environments with sufficient rainfall and specific temperature ranges.1