Cuban Royal Palm

Cuban Royal Palm

Family: arecaceae

 Characteristic features: 
 Habit : palm tree

 Stem : up to 40 m tall, usually displaying a distinct thickening towards the middle, greyish white, smooth. Crown roundish.

 Leaves : up to 4 m long, drooping, divided into numerous leaflets, pinnae in two rows on either side of rachis, lower pinnae 60-71 x 2-2.5 cm, middle pinnae 70-90 x 3.5-5.0 cm, reduplicate from the base, rachis tapering towards the apex; petiole glabrous, unarmed, smooth, elongated into a leaf sheath forming a shining greenish elongated crown shaft, crown shaft reaching up to 120 cm. 

 Flowers : Inflorescence profusely branched. Male flower much larger than the female, calyx and corolla 3-lobed, corolla thin, larger than the calyx, petals 0.5 x c. 0.2 mm, valvate, joined at the base; stamens 9, exserted, filaments subulate, 0.5 mm long, joined at the base beneath the pistillode; pistillode smaller, anthers dorsifixed, large. Female flowers 3-4 mm long, white; stigma triangular and surrounded by 6 scale-like staminodes.

 Fruit : globose, fleshy 1-1.2 cm long, scar near the base of the fruit.

 Flowering time : Throughout the year.