Roystonea oleracea

''Roystonea oleracea'', sometimes known as the Caribbean royal palm, palmiste, imperial palm or cabbage palm, is a species of palm which is native to the Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also reportedly naturalized in Guyana and on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean.

Its specific epithet ''oleracea'' means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of (). The plant's buds was eaten in the West Indies.

Description

''Roystonea oleracea'' is a large palm which reaches heights of , with the record being not including the crownshaft or fronds. Stems are grey or whitish-grey. and range from in diameter. The upper portion of the stem is encircled by leaf sheaths, forming a green portion known as the crownshaft which is normally about long. Individuals are reported to have 16–22 or 20–22 leaves. Leaves are once-pinnate and consist of a long petiole and a rachis. The leaflets are attached to the rachis at various angles, giving the frond a bottlebrush-like appearance. The inflorescence bears white male and female flowers. Fruit are long and long, and turn purplish-black when ripe.

Taxonomy

''Roystonea'' is placed in the subfamily Arecoideae and the tribe Roystoneae. The placement ''Roystonea'' within the Arecoideae is uncertain; a phylogeny based on plastid DNA failed to resolve the position of the genus within the Arecoideae. As of 2008, there appear to be no molecular phylogenetic studies of ''Roystonea'' and the relationship between ''R. oleracea'' and the rest of the genus is uncertain.

The species was first described by Nikolaus von Jacquin in 1763 as ''Areca oleracea''. The epithet ''oleracea'' means "vegetable- or herb-like", and is used in botanical Latin for edible or cultivated plants (as in ''Brassica oleracea'' or ''Portulaca oleracea''). In 1838, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius transferred it to the genus ''Oreodoxa'' as ''O. oleracea''. Berthold Carl Seemann transferred it to the genus ''Kentia'' in 1838. In 1900 Orator F. Cook proposed a new genus for the royal palms, and moved this species from ''Oreodoxa'' to ''Roystonea'' the following year.

In 1825 Curt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel described ''Euterpe caribaea'', citing Jacquin's ''A. oleracea'' as a synonym. In 1903 Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer and Ignatz Urban transferred this species to the genus ''Oreodoxa''. Percy Wilson moved it to ''Roystonea'' in 1917. Since Sprengel was aware of Jacquin's description, his name is superfluous. Liberty Hyde Bailey described ''Roystonea venezuelana'' in 1949 based on a collection by Julian Steyermark. In his 1996 monograph on the genus ''Roystonea'', Scott Zona reported that he was "unable to find any consistent morphological or molecular differences between the two taxa", and placed ''R. venezuelana'' in synonym with ''R. oleracea''.

Based on cultivated plants at the botanical garden in Georgetown, Guyana (then British Guiana), John Frederick Waby described ''Oreodoxa regia'' var. ''jenmanii'' in 1919. The distinguishing feature of this variety was the fact that it held its lowest leaves at a 45° angle above horizontal. In 1935 Bailey described ''R. oleracea'' var. ''excelsior'' based on specimens collected from the Georgetown Botanic Gardens. Hyde cited Waby's name as an unpublished synonym, apparently unaware that Waby's name was a valid, published name. In 1996 Zona coined a new combination, ''R. oleracea'' var. ''jenmannii'' to correct Hyde's mistake and update Waby's name. However, he noted that this variety, which was only known from cultivation, did not differ from the typical in floral or fruit characters. Rafaël Govaerts merged the variety into synonym with the typical variety.

Common names

''Roystonea oleracea'' is known as the palmiste in Trinidad and Tobago, the royal palm or cabbage palm in Barbados and ''chaguaramo'' or ''maparó'' in Venezuela. In Colombia it is known as ''mapora'' in Spanish, ''mapórbot'' in Jitnu and ''mapoloboto'' in Sikuani. It is also called the cabbage tree, palmetto royal, ''palmier franc'' and ''chou palmiste'', among other names.

Distribution

''Roystonea oleracea'' is native to Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, northern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia. It is naturalised in Antigua, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It often grows in areas subject which are wet for at least part of the year—coastal areas near the sea, gallery forests in seasonally flooded savannas.

Ecology

''Roystonea oleracea'' fruit is an important component of the diet of orange-winged amazon parrots and red-bellied macaws in Nariva Swamp, Trinidad and Tobago. Over the course of a study conducted between 1995 and 1996, ''R. oleracea'' fruit was an important element of the diet of both species between June and January, and was their dominant food item from July to November.

Uses

The tallest and "most majestic" royal palm, ''Roystonea oleracea'' is often used as an ornamental. The wood can be used for construction. The terminal bud is edible. The sap of young inflorescences can be fermented to produce alcohol. In his 1750 ''Natural History of Barbados'' Griffith Hughes reported that the immature inflorescences could be pickled and eaten as a vegetable.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q141233

oleracea
Trees of Barbados
Trees of Dominica
Trees of Guadeloupe
Trees of Guyana
Trees of Martinique
Trees of Trinidad and Tobago
Trees of Venezuela
Flora of Mauritius
Trees of Réunion
Trees of the Windward Islands
Trees of the Leeward Islands
Palms of French Guiana
Least concern plants
Plants described in 1901
Least concern biota of South America
Garden plants of South America
Ornamental trees