also: やしか
noun
Arecaceae; palm family
Taxonomic term for the palm family of plants. Used in botanical contexts.
ヤシ科の植物は熱帯地方に多く分布している。
Plants of the palm family are widely distributed in tropical regions.
ヤシ refers to a palm tree in general, while ヤシ科 is the taxonomic family name.
From ヤシ (palm) + 科 (family, taxonomic rank). The kanji spelling 椰子 is ateji for ヤシ.