Plant Guide > Trees > Palms and Palmettos > Royal Palm Tree

Royal Palm Tree

The Royal Palm (Roystonea regia, Cook) is one of the noblest of tropical trees, bearing its abundant crown of foliage, each leaf 10 to 12 feet long, and bending gradually outward and downward, with a grace peculiarly its own. The tall trunks, 80 to 100 feet in height, rise from abruptly flaring bases, and are enlarged in the middle. The rind is pale grey tinged with orange, except for the upper 10 feet or more, which is always green. The flowers of this tree are borne in branched spikes, about 2 feet long, and clustered at the base of the leafy crown. They bloom in January and February, and are succeeded by oblong berries, violet in colour and 2 inch long.

The trees grow from Bay Biscayne around the southern point of Florida and on Long's Key, the vanguard of a host that inhabits Central America and the West Indies. They are also found on hummock lands up the Rogers River, east of Collier's Bay. A famous avenue tree in tropical cities, the trunks are used for piles of wharves, and walking sticks are made from the dense outer rind.