Roystonea regia
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Roystonea regia habit. Photograph courtesy of Scott Zona. |
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Roystonea regia habit. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
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Roystonea regia stem with leaf scar rings |
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Roystonea regia crown shaft and base of canopy |
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Roystonea regia inflorescence. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
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Roystonea regia leaflet with ramenta |
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Roystonea regia closer view of leaflet ramenta |
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Roystonea regia seeds. Photograph courtesy of Mariana P. Beckman, DPI |
Common name
Cuban royal palm, Florida royal palm
Description
Stems: Solitary, erect, grayish white, to 30 m tall and 40-60 cm in diameter, swollen to 75 cm at the base and toward the middle. Leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
scars are regular and closely spaced, but not raised or prominent from a distance. Leaves: Pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
, reduplicatereduplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create an upside-down V-shape, with the margins lower than the midrib (so that rain might "run off the roof"), the folding is reduplicate.
, to 3 m long, with numerous leaflets in several planes (plumose), with prominent secondary ribs. The crown shaftcrown shaft:
a cylinder of clasping leaf sheaths toward the apex of the stem, found in some pinnate-leaved palms (e.g., <em>Wodyetia bifurcata</em>)
is bright, glossy green, slightly swollen at the base, and up to 2 m long. Lower leaves droop downward. Leaflets have acute tips, prominent secondary veins and scales along the prominent midrib's undersurface. Flowers and fruit: Inflorescenceinflorescence:
the reproductive structure of a flowering plant, including palms, consisting of flowers and associated bracts
to 1 m long and about the same width, densely branched to three orders, with separate, white staminatestaminate:
a flower bearing stamens but no pistils; a “male” flower
and pistillatepistillate:
a flower bearing a pistil but no stamens; a “female” flower
flowers. Oblong to ovoid, 1-1.5 cm long fruits are purplish black when ripe.
Diagnostic features
Majestic, upright, pinnatepinnate:
like a feather; palms with pinnate leaves usually have compound leaflets attached to a rachis, although a pinnate leaf may be entire with pinnate veins (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em>)
palm with whitish, swollen stem; somewhat glossy green leaflets with prominent secondary ribs on either side of the midrib.
May be confused with
Other Roystonea species, see those descriptions for diagnostic features
Distribution
Native to Florida and the Caribbean region
Additional comments
Commonly planted as a street tree lining grand boulevards
Scientific name
Roystonea regia (Kunth) O.F.Cook
Family
Arecaceae/Palmae
Synonyms
Euterpe ventricosa C. H. Wright
Oreodoxa regia Kunth
Palma elata W. Bartram
Roystonea elata (W. Bartram) F. Harper
Roystonea florida O. F. Cook
