No useful method of vegetative reproduction exists for coconut and date palms, but selected mature stock might be clonally propagated using tissue culture techniques. In culture, tissue explants of both palms have similar nutrient and hormone requirements for growth. Stem, leaf and inflorescence tissues of coconut produce callus which cannot be sub-cultured, but a callus derived from the endosperm has been maintained by sub-culture for over a year. Protoplasts have been isolated from callus of both species but no cell wall formation has been observed in subsequent culture. In the coconut, vegetative-type shoots and roots have been obtained on explants from young inflorescences, whilst in the date palm, roots have been initiated on young leaf petiole tissue and successfully sub-cultured.