Polytomy
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POLYTOMY. Chamaerops humilis, Mediterranean fan palm.
Galvez Mall near Encina Hall, facing northeast.
In a phylogenetic tree, a polytomy is an internal node from which many branches simultaneously descend. Three features of this multi-trunked fan palm illustrate the idea of a polytomy: the branching of multiple trunks at the ground, the branching of multiple palmate fronds from the top of the trunk, and the branching of the segments in each frond.
Photo: Noah Rosenberg, January 6, 2018