Roystonea regia (Kunth) Cook, Arecaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk, score: 0 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Euterpe ventricosa C. H. Wright; Oreodoxa regia Kunth; Palma elata W. Bartram; Roystonea elata (W. Bartram) F. Harper; Roystonea floridana O. F. Cook

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Cuban royal palm, Florida royal palm, royal palm

French: palmier royal

Spanish: chaguaramo, palma real, palma real Cubana

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Stems gray-white, 30 m, diameter 35-41 cm, smooth. Leaves: segments inserted on rachis in several ranks at divergent angles, giving leaf an appearing almost plumose appearance. Inflorescences to 1 m; rachillae 11-31 cm, stiff. Flowers white; anthers pinkish. Fruits ripening from green through red to purplish black at maturity, dorsiventrally compressed obovoid, 9.5-10.5 mm, diameter 7.4-7.8 mm" (Flora of North America online).

"Trunk, 60-75 feet tall, swollen toward middle.  Fronds 10-13 feet long, lower fronds hanging below horizontal, crownshaft 5 feet long, partially obscured by lower fronds; leaflets in brief clusters of 2-4, arranged in several planes.  Inflorescence branch arching gracefully outward, not wavy.  Fruit broadly ellipsoid, 0.3-0.5 inches long, dull red to purplish"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 628).

Habitat/ecology:  Commonly planted as a street tree.  In Hawai‘i (O‘ahu), it is naturalized throughout Waimānalo "where it is described as a 'serious pest' by nursery owners, who must control the seedlings.  For these reasons, the continuing use of this species as an ornamental should be discouraged" (Frohlich & Lau, 2007; p. 9).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Florida (US), Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba; naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 87)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 409-410)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 14)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 14)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 143)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 87)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1361)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2007) (p. 9) Vouchers cited: G. Staples 1234 (BISH), G. Staples 1236 (BISH)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 87)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 126)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast and Florida) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Roystonea regia is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Roystonea regia as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Roystonea regia may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Euterpe ventricosa C. H. Wright; Oreodoxa regia Kunth; Palma elata W. Bartram; Roystonea elata (W. Bartram) F. Harper; Roystonea floridana O. F. Cook

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993. Flora of North America North of Mexico (online edition).

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2007. New plant records from O‘ahu for 2006. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:8-13.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).