Roystonea

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Roystonea

Roystonea (Royal Palm) is a genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of 10 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
of monoecious palms

Arecaceae

Palm or Palmae or Panamea , the palm family, is a family of flowering plants belonging to the Monocotyledon order, Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known Genus with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropics, subtropics, and warm temperate climates....
, native to the Caribbean Islands, and the adjacent coasts of Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, Central

Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
and South America

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
. Named for Roy Stone

Roy Stone

Roy Stone was an Union Army general during the American Civil War. He is most noted for his stubborn defense of the McPherson Farm during the Battle of Gettysburg....
, a U.S. Army engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of engineering. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints....
, the genus contains some of the most recognizable and commonly cultivated palms (R. regia) in tropical and subtropical regions.

oystonea species are single-stemmed tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s, 10-30 m tall.

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Encyclopedia

Roystonea (Royal Palm) is a genus

Genus

Species

Arecaceae

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, Central

Central America

South America

Roy Stone

Roy Stone was an Union Army general during the American Civil War. He is most noted for his stubborn defense of the McPherson Farm during the Battle of Gettysburg....
, a U.S. Army engineer

Engineer

Description

Roystonea species are single-stemmed tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s, 10-30 m tall. Trunks are grey to white, often bulging either at the base or the central portion, depending on the species. The leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
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 (crownshaft

Crownshaft

An elongated circumferential leaf base formation present on some species of Arecaceae is called a crownshaft.The leaf bases of some pinnate leaved palms form a sheath at the top of the trunk surrounding the bud where all the subsequent leaves are formed....
) extending 2-5 m down the trunk. These plants have the ability to easily release their leaves in strong winds, a supposed adaption serving to prevent toppling during hurricanes. Inflorescences occur beneath the crownshaft, emerging from a narrow, horn-shaped bract

Bract

In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf. Bracts are ordinarily associated with reproductive structures . They are ordinarily reduced in size relative to foliage leaves, or of a different color or texture from foliage leaves, or both....
. The flowers on the branched panicles are usually white, unisexual, and contain both sexes. The fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
is an oblong or globose drupe

Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovary....
1-2 cm long and deep purple when ripe. Some species so closely resemble one another that scientific differentiation is by inflorescence detail; flower size, color, etc.

Species

Roystonea altissima
Roystonea altissima

Roystonea altissima is a species of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family, endemic to Jamaica, where it grows on hillsides and mountain slopes near the interior of the island....
(Mill.) H.E.Moore
Roystonea borinquena
Roystonea borinquena

Roystonea borinquena, sometimes known as the Puerto Rico royal palm, is a species of Arecaceae which is native to Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands....
O.F.Cook (syn. R. hispaniolana) - Hispaniola or Puerto Rico Royal Palm
Roystonea dunlapiana
Roystonea dunlapiana

Roystonea dunlapiana is a Royal Arecaceae native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is a large tree, growing up to 20 metres tall and 38 centimetres ....
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
Roystonea regia

Roystonea regia, commonly known as the Cuban royal palm, Florida royal palm, or simply the royal palm is a species of Arecaceae which is native to Florida, Mexico and part of Central America and the northern Caribbean....
(Kunth) O.F.Cook (syn. R. elata, R. floridana) - Florida or Cuban Royal Palm
Roystonea stellata León
Roystonea violacea León

Cultivation and uses

Royal palms are widely planted for decorative purposes throughout their native region, and elsewhere in the tropics

Tropics

The Tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23?26' N latitude, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23?26' S latitude....
and subtropics

Subtropics

For information on the American literary journal, see Subtropics The subtropics are the Geographical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropics zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitude 23.5? north and south....
. They are considered by many to be the most beautiful palm in the world. Royal palms are very fond of water and thrive on supplemental irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
. They also do better in a soil with lots of humus

Humus

Humus is degraded organic material in soil, which causes some soil layers to be dark brown or black.In soil science, humus refers to any organic matter that has reached a point of stability, where it will break down no further and might, if conditions do not change, remain essentially as it is for centuries, if not millennia....
.

Cultivation in the United States of America

While royal palms are considered a "tropical" palm, they do grow in favored microclimate

Microclimate

A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles ....
s in central Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, e.g. some areas around Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay

This article is about the body of water. For the demographic region, see Tampa Bay Area. For the city, see Tampa, FloridaTampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Old Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, and New Tampa Bay....
and Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish language Cabo Ca?averal, is a headlands and bays in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of that state's Atlantic Ocean coast 45 minutes East of Orlando by car....
. They also will grow - albeit slowly - in favored microclimates in southern California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, southern Arizona

Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
and the extreme southern Texas

Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
barrier islands near the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
. Royals are being increasingly planted on Galveston Island where they do very well and as far north as Houston where individual Royals have grown 20-30 feet tall south of Interstate 10.