Roystonea oleracea

Last updated

Roystonea oleracea
Imperial palm trees.JPG
Roystonea oleracea in the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Roystonea
Species:
R. oleracea
Binomial name
Roystonea oleracea
Synonyms [2]

Areca oleraceaJacq.
Oreodoxa oleracea(Jacq.) Mart.
Kentia oleracea(Jacq.) Seem. ex H.Wendl. in O.C.E.de Kerchove de Denterghem
Gorgasia oleracea(Jacq.) O.F.Cook nom. inval.
Euterpe caribaea Spreng.
Oreodoxa caribaea(Spreng.) Dammer & Urb. in I.Urban
Roystonea caribaea(Spreng.) P.Wilson
Oreodoxa regia var. jenmanii Waby
Roystonea oleracea var. excelsior L.H.Bailey nom. illeg.
Roystonea venezuelanaL.H.Bailey
Roystonea oleracea var. jenmanii(Waby) Zona

Contents

Roystonea oleracea, sometimes known as the Caribbean royal palm,[ citation needed ]palmiste, imperial palm[ citation needed ] 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. [3]

Its specific epithet oleracea means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus). [4] [5] The plant's buds was eaten in the West Indies. [6]

Description

Roystonea oleracea is a large palm which reaches heights of 40 metres (130 ft), with the record being 187 feet (57 meters) not including the crownshaft or fronds. [7] Stems are grey [8] or whitish-grey. [9] and range from 46–66 centimetres (18–26 in) in diameter. [8] The upper portion of the stem is encircled by leaf sheaths, forming a green portion known as the crownshaft which is normally about 2 m (6.6 ft) long. [8] Individuals are reported to have 16–22 [9] or 20–22 leaves. Leaves are once-pinnate and consist of a 60–100 cm (24–39 in) long petiole and a 4–4.6 m (13–15 ft) rachis. The leaflets are attached to the rachis at various angles, giving the frond a bottlebrush-like appearance. The 1.4 m (4.6 ft) inflorescence bears white male and female flowers. Fruit are 12.6–17.6 millimetres (0.50–0.69 in) long and 7.6–10.4 mm (0.30–0.41 in) long, and turn purplish-black when ripe. [8]

Taxonomy

Roystonea is placed in the subfamily Arecoideae and the tribe Roystoneae. [10] 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. [11] As of 2008, there appear to be no molecular phylogenetic studies of Roystonea [10] 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. [12] 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. [2] In 1900 Orator F. Cook proposed a new genus for the royal palms, [13] and moved this species from Oreodoxa to Roystonea the following year. [14]

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. [8] 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. [8]

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. [8] Rafaël Govaerts merged the variety into synonym with the typical variety. [2]

Common names

Roystonea oleracea is known as the palmiste in Trinidad and Tobago, the royal palm [8] or cabbage palm in Barbados [9] and chaguaramo or maparó in Venezuela. [8] In Colombia it is known as mapora in Spanish, mapórbot in Jitnu and mapoloboto in Sikuani. [15] It is also called the cabbage tree, palmetto royal, palmier franc and chou palmiste, among other names. [8]

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. [8] 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. [9]

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. [16]

Uses

The tallest and "most majestic" royal palm, Roystonea oleracea is often used as an ornamental. [9] 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. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Attalea maripa</i> Species of palm

Attalea maripa, commonly called maripa palm is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It grows up 35 m (115 ft) tall and can have leaves or fronds 10–12 m (33–39 ft) long. This plant has a yellow edible fruit which is oblong ovoid and cream. An edible oil can be extracted from the pulp of the fruit and from the kernel of the seed.

<i>Roystonea</i> Genus of palms

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 was named after Roy Stone, a U.S. Army engineer. It contains some of the most recognizable and commonly cultivated palms in tropical and subtropical regions.

<i>Coccothrinax</i> Genus of palms

Coccothrinax is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae. There are more than 50 species described in the genus, plus many synonyms and subspecies. A new species was described as recently as 2017. Many Coccothrinax produce thatch. In Spanish-speaking countries, guano is a common name applied to Coccothrinax palms. The species are native throughout the Caribbean, the Bahamas, extreme southern Florida and southeastern Mexico, but most of the species are known only from Cuba.

<i>Aiphanes horrida</i> Species of palm

Aiphanes horrida is a palm native to northern South America and Trinidad and Tobago. Aiphanes horrida is a solitary, spiny tree. In the wild it grows 3–10 metres tall tall with a stem diameter of 6–10 centimetres ; cultivated trees may be as much as 15 m (49') tall with a 15 cm (6") diameter. The epicarp and mesocarp of the fruit are rich in carotene and are eaten in Colombia, while the seeds are used to make candles. In parts of the Colombian Llanos endocarps are used to play games.

Bactris campestris is a small spiny palm which grows in multi-stemmed clumps in savannas and low forests in northern South America from Colombia to the Guianas, Trinidad and Tobago, and northern Brazil.

Roystonea altissima is a species of palm which is endemic to hillsides and mountain slopes near the interior of Jamaica. The name altissima is Latin for "highest", however they are not the tallest species in the genus Roystonea. They are usually found just over sea-level to 760 metres (2,490 ft) in elevation.

<i>Roystonea dunlapiana</i> Species of palm

Roystonea dunlapiana, commonly known as yagua or cabiche is a species of palm which is native to Nicaragua, Honduras, and southern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Roystonea which is absent from the insular Caribbean.

<i>Hedyscepe</i> Genus of palms

Hedyscepe canterburyana, the big mountain palm or umbrella palm, is the sole species in the genus Hedyscepe of the family Arecaceae. It is endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia and is threatened by habitat loss. It is a solitary palm with a distinct crownshaft, and bears unisexual flowers of both sexes. With the Rhopalostylis palms of Norfolk Island and New Zealand it forms the botanic subtribe Rhopalostylidinae. If differs from Rhopalostylis in minor floral details including having more than six stamens, and in being protandrous rather than protogynous. The two genera were formerly included in Archontophoenicinae until a recent revision. In some molecular phylogenetic analyses, Hedyscepe was found to be nested in the New Caledonia endemic Basselinia.

<i>Euterpe precatoria</i> Species of palm

Euterpe precatoria is a tall, slender-stemmed, pinnate-leaved palm native to Central and South America and Trinidad and Tobago. E. precatoria is used commercially to produce fruits, although Euterpe oleracea is more commonly cultivated due to its larger fruits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceroxyloideae</span> Subfamily of palms

The Ceroxyloideae are a subfamily of flowering plants in the palm family found mainly in the Americas with an outlying genus in each of Australia, Madagascar, and the Comoros. Recently revised, the former subfamily Phytelephantoideae was reduced to the tribal level and included, while the Hyophorbeae tribe was reassigned to Arecoideae; it now contains eight genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhopalostylidinae</span> Subtribe of palms

Rhopalostylidinae is a botanical subtribe consisting of two genera of palms from Australia and New Zealand, Hedyscepe and Rhopalostylis. These two genera were formerly included in Archontophoenicinae, to which they are morphologically similar, until a recent revision.

<i>Neptunia oleracea</i> Species of flowering plant

Neptunia oleracea, commonly known in English as water mimosa or sensitive neptunia, is pantropical nitrogen-fixing perennial legume. Genus and common name come from Neptune, god of the sea, in reference to the aquatic habit of some species in the genus.

<i>Roystonea regia</i> Species of palm

Roystonea regia, commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted throughout the tropics and subtropics as an ornamental tree. Although it is sometimes called R. elata, the conserved name R. regia is now the correct name for the species. The royal palm reaches heights from 50 to over 80 feet tall. Populations in Cuba and Florida were long seen as separate species, but are now considered a single species.

<i>Roystonea borinquena</i> Species of palm

Roystonea borinquena, commonly called the Puerto Rico royal palm, is a species of palm which is native to Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Roystonea princeps, commonly known as Morass cabbage palm or Morass royal palm, is a species of palm which is endemic to western Jamaica.

Roystonea lenis is a species of palm which is endemic to Guantánamo Province in eastern Cuba.

Roystonea maisiana is a species of palm which is endemic to the Maisí region of Guantánamo Province in eastern Cuba.

Roystonea stellata is an extinct species of palm endemic to Yagruma terrace in the Maisí region of Guantánamo Province in eastern Cuba. The species is known from only a single collection made by French-born botanist Frère León in 1939.

Roystonea violacea is a species of palm which is endemic to the Maisí region of Guantánamo Province in eastern Cuba.

References

  1. Zona, Scott; Raúl Verdecia; Angela Leiva Sánchez; Carl E. Lewis; Mike Maunder (2007). "The conservation status of West Indian palms (Arecaceae)". Oryx. 41 (3): 300–05. doi: 10.1017/S0030605307000404 .
  2. 1 2 3 "Roystonea oleracea". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Roystonea oleracea
  4. Parker, Peter (2018). A Little Book of Latin for Gardeners. Little Brown Book Group. p. 328. ISBN   978-1-4087-0615-2. oleraceus, holeraceus = relating to vegetables or kitchen garden
  5. Whitney, William Dwight (1899). The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Century Co. p. 2856. L.holeraceus, prop.oleraceus, herb-like, holus, prop.olus (oler-), herbs, vegetables
  6. Redhead, J. F. (1989). Utilization of Tropical Foods: Trees. FAO, United Nations. p. 18. ISBN   978-92-5-102776-9. The "royal palm”, Roystonea regia , and another cabbage palm, Roystonea oleracea, are both used for their edible buds in the West Indies, but only after they have been felled for their major products.
  7. Zona, Scott (December 16, 1996). "Roystonea (Arecaceae, Arecoidae)". Flora Neotropica. Monograph 71: 4.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Zona, Scott (December 1996). "Roystonea (Arecaceae: Arecoideae)". Flora Neotropica. 71: 1–35. no
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Henderson, Andrew; Gloria Galeano; Rodrigo Bernal (1995). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 135. ISBN   978-0-691-08537-1.
  10. 1 2 Roncal, Julissa; Scott Zona; Carl E. Lewis (2008). "Molecular Phylogenetic Studies of Caribbean Palms (Arecaceae) and Their Relationships to Biogeography and Conservation". The Botanical Review. 74 (1): 78–102. doi:10.1007/s12229-008-9005-9. S2CID   40119059. no
  11. Asmussen, Conny B.; John Dransfield; Vinnie Deickmann; Anders S. Barfod; Jean-Christophe Pintaud; William J. Baker (2006). "A new subfamily classification of the palm family (Arecaceae): evidence from plastid DNA phylogeny". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 151 (1): 15–38. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2006.00521.x . no
  12. Jacquin, Nicolai Josephi (1763). Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum Historia, in Qua Ad Linnæanum Systema Determinatæ Descriptæque Sistuntur Plantæ Illæ, Quas in Insulis Martinica, Jamaica, Domingo, Aliisque et in Vicinæ Continentis Parte Observavit Rariores; Adjectis Iconibus in Solo Natali Delineatis. p. 278.
  13. Cook, O.F. (1900). "The Method of Types in Botanical Nomenclature". Science. 12 (300): 475–81. Bibcode:1900Sci....12..475C. doi:10.1126/science.12.300.475. hdl: 2027/hvd.32044106398464 . JSTOR   1628494. PMID   17750859. no
  14. Cook, O.F. (1901). "A Synopsis of the Palms of Puerto Rico". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. Torrey Botanical Society. 28 (10): 525–69. doi:10.2307/2478709. JSTOR   2478709. no
  15. Marmolejo, Diana; María Emilia Montes; Rodrigo Bernal (2008). "Nombres amerindios de las palmas (Palmae) de Colombia" (PDF). Revista Peruvana de Biología (in Spanish). 15 (suppl. 1): 151–190.
  16. Bonadie, Wayne A.; Peter R. Bacon (2000). "Year-round utilisation of fragmented palm swamp forest by Red-bellied macaws (Ara manilata) and Orange-winged parrots (Amazona amazonica) in the Nariva Swamp (Trinidad)". Biological Conservation. 95 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00018-5.