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Why can palm trunks withstand winds that break many ordinary trees?

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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.

Palm trunks are able to withstand high winds that often break ordinary trees due to their unique internal structure. Unlike the solid, woody cylinder found in many hardwood trees, a typical palm stem is composed of hundreds to thousands of conducting strands scattered throughout softer ground tissue.1

This structure is divided into two distinct regions. The central region is relatively soft, while the outer region is composed of densely packed fibers that are exceptionally hard and durable. This flexible yet resilient arrangement allows the palm to endure significant wind stress that would otherwise snap the more rigid trunks of other tree species.1