Roystonea

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Roystonea

Roystonea regia at Collier-Seminole State Park, Florida

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Liliopsida
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Roystonea O.F.Cook

Species

See text

Roystonea (Royal Palm) is a genus of 10-12 species of palms, native to tropical regions of Florida, the Caribbean, and the adjacent coasts of Central and South America. They are sometimes referred to as Bottle palms due to their shape. They are single-stemmed trees growing to 10-30 m tall with a trunk which may be thickened either at the base or the central portion, depending on the species. The leaves are pinnate, 3-7 m long with numerous (about 100) pinnae up to 1 m long and 2-4 cm broad; the leaves also have a distinctive green basal sheath extending 2-5 m down the trunk. The fruit is an oblong or globose drupe 1-2 cm long.

Selected species

Roystonea altissima (Mill.) H.E.Moore
Roystonea borinquena O.F.Cook (syn. R. hispaniolana) - Hispaniola or Puerto Rico Royal Palm
Roystonea dunlapiana P.H.Allen
Roystonea lenis León
Roystonea maisiana (L.H.Bailey) Zona
Roystonea oleracea (Jacq.) O.F.Cook (syn. R. venezuelana) - Trinidad or Venezuela Royal Palm
Roystonea princeps (Becc.) Burret - Jamaican Royal Palm
Roystonea regia (Kunth) O.F.Cook (syn. R. elata, R. floridana) - Florida or Cuban Royal Palm
Roystonea stellata León
Roystonea violacea León

[edit] Cultivation and uses

Royal Palms are widely planted for decorative purposes throughout their native region, and elsewhere in the coastal tropics and subtropics. They are considered by many to be the most beautiful palm in the world.

Royal Palms are rather intolerant of cold weather. The foliage will show cold damage at 31ºF (-1º) and the palm will defoliate at 29ºF (-2ºC). Royal Palms may be killed by temperatures of 25ºF (-4ºC). That said, seemingly "dead" Royal Palms may occasionally "return to life" after severe freezes in the low 20ºF range (-5 or -6ºC), but there is usually a trunk constriction that marks the event.

Royal Palms are very fond of water and thrive on supplemental irrigation. They also do better in a soil with lots of humus.

Because their native location is in "hurricane alley", Royal Palms have adapted to the high winds by easily shedding their leaves. This leaves a bare trunk that more likely to survive a severe storm than a trunk with a full set of leaves. The palms quickly renew their foliage after such an event.

The name "Royal Palm" is widely used in Florida for the name of streets, real estate developments, and the village of Royal Palm Beach.