''Roystonea borinquena'', commonly called the Puerto Rico royal palm, ( Spanish: ''palma real puertorriqueña'') is a species of palm which is native to

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

(in both the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

Description

''Roystonea borinquena'' is a large palm which usually reaches a height of , but individuals have been recorded. Stems are smooth and grey-brown to cinnamon-brown, and range from in diameter. Leaves are long, with short petioles and leaf sheathes long which encircles the upper portion of the stem, forming a crownshaft. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s bear creamy yellow male and female flowers; the

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s of the male flowers are bright purple. The fruit is single-seeded, about long and wide. The greenish-yellow immature fruit turn brownish-purple as they ripen.

Taxonomy

''Roystonea'' is placed in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Arecoideae and the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Roystoneae. The placement of ''Roystonea'' within the Arecoideae is uncertain; a 2006

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

based on

plastid The plastid (Greek: πλαστός; plastós: formed, molded – plural plastids) is a membrane-bound organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms. They are considered to be intracellular endosy ...

DNA failed to resolve the position of the genus within the Arecoideae. As of 2008, there appeared to be no molecular phylogenetic studies of ''Roystonea'' and the relationship between ''R. borinquena'' and the rest of the genus is uncertain. The species was first described by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

botanist

Orator F. Cook Orator Fuller Cook Jr. (May 28, 1867 – April 23, 1949) was an American botanist, entomologist, and agronomist, known for his work on cotton and rubber cultivation and for coining the term "speciation" to describe the process by which new species ...

in 1901. For most of the 19th century, only two species of royal palms were generally recognized: Greater Antillean royal palms were considered ''Oreodoxa regia'' (now '' Roystonea regia''), while Lesser Antillean ones were considered ''O. oleracea'' ('' R. oleracea''). Due to problems with the way that the genus ''Oreodoxa'' had been applied by taxonomists, Cook proposed that the name ''

Roystonea ''Roystonea'' is a genus of eleven species of monoecious palms, native to the Caribbean Islands, and the adjacent coasts of the United States (Florida), Central America and northern South America. Commonly known as the royal palms, the genus wa ...

'' (in honor of American general

Roy Stone Roy Stone (October 16, 1836 – August 5, 1905) was an American soldier, civil engineer, and inventor. He served in the American Civil War, distinguishing himself during the Battle of Gettysburg, and took part in the Spanish–American War. He ...

) in 1900 be applied to the royal palms. The following year Cook described ''Roystonea borinquena''.

Common names

''Roystonea borinquena'' is known as the "mountain-cabbage", "Puerto Rico royal palm" or simply "royal palm" in English, ''palmiste'' in

, ''palma real puertorriqueña'', ''manacla'', ''palma caruta'', ''palma de cerdos'', ''palma de grana'', ''palma de yagua'', ''palma real'', ''yagua'' and other names in

and the

Reproduction and growth

Young ''Roystonea borinquena'' trees may begin flowering when they are about seven years old, and they flower throughout the year. The flowers of ''Roystonea borinquena'' produce

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and are visited by honey bees; and are thought to be insect-pollinated. Flowering individuals bear an average of 3.2 inflorescences per tree, and produce 6–12,000 fruit per inflorescence. Seeds germinate after 50–100 days. After six months, seedlings in full sunlight can reach a height of ; young trees can grow an average of per year.

Distribution

''Roystonea borinquena'' is native to

(including Vieques) and

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

, St. John and Tortola in the

. In Hispaniola, ''R. borinquena'' is found at elevations below

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, except in the driest regions. In Puerto Rico it is found in areas below above sea level, that receive of rainfall.

Ecology

''Roystonea borinquena'' fruit are a fat-rich food source for birds. White-crowned pigeons (''Patagioenas leucocephala'') have been reported to disperse the seeds of the species. The Critically Endangered Ridgway's hawk (''Buteo ridgwayi''), endemic to Hispaniola, favours ''R. borinquena'' when nesting.

Uses

Royal palms are popular

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

s due to their striking appearance; ''Roystonea borinquena'' is extensively planted as an ornamental in Puerto Rico. Its tolerance of

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

, its ability to grow in a variety of soil types, and the fact that it roots do not damage sidewalks, increase its utility for landscaping and street planting. Its timber is occasionally used for construction but is susceptible to termite attack. Leaves are used as thatch and the leaf sheaths can be laid flat and used to make the sides of buildings. The fruit are also fed to

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

s and other

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q151210 borinquena Trees of the Caribbean Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN