Palmae Roystonea oleracea (Jacq.) Cook

| |	© Missouri Botanic Garden

Keywords in this picture :

• Habit
• Vegetative
• Tree (any size)
• Plant parts

Places where this species can be found :

• Grand Etang - GRENADA

Species information

Description
LArge palm, often with mound of many aerial or exposed roots at base. Basal leaves usually horizontal, 3-6m x 2m, drooping slightly at the tips. Crownshaft conspicuous, 2-5m long, swollen at base, bright green. Unfolding leaf bud conspicuous at apex of crown. Leaflets 10-100cm long x 5cm, often split into two at tip. Leaflets in two planes. This species is swollen at the base, then more or less cylindrical. R. regia, from Cuba, another cultivated 'Royal Palm' is more carrot shaped, broadened and swollen higher up. A Royal palm is on the National flag of Haiti

Interest
Roystonea - honour of General Roy Stone (1836-1905), American army engineer in Puerto Rico. One of the species commonly called Royal Palm. Roystonea regia, however. is a similar but taller species of 'Royal Palm' more widely cultivated in the world. The genus is from Central America and the Caribbean, 12 species, with intermeduiates. The trunks give out an aqueous sound when slapped. R. olearacea has lealfets in two ranks, in other species e.g. R. regia, in 4, with every 2nd or 3rd leaflet on each side points up and droops down again, making the leaves more 'bushy-tailed'. The fruits is a souce of oil. In some parts of the Caribbean, especially Cuba, Roystonea leafbases are used for thatch, and the trees for timber, livestock feed, palmito (palm cabbage or heart-of-palm, the terminal bud is edible.).

Specimen information

Collector
Hawthorne, W.D.

Specimen Number
s.n.