The Palms and the Palmettos 



KEY TO GENERA 



A. Leaves long, feather shaped. 

 B. Fruit blue, below leaf cluster. 



I. Genus Roystonea, Cook 

 BB. Fruit orange-scarlet, among leaves, 



2. Genus Pseudophcenix, H. Wendl. 

 AA. Leaves round, fan shaped. 



B. Leaf stalks spiny. 



C. Leaves 5 to 6 feet long; petioles 4 to 6 feet long. 



3. Genus Washingtonia, H. Wendl. 

 CC. Leaves 2 feet long; petioles i;^ to 2 feet long. 



4. Genus Serenoa, Hook. 

 BB. Leaf stalks not spiny. 

 C. Fruit white. 



5. Genus Thrinax, Sw. 

 CC. Fruit black. 



D. Calyx and corolla united into a cup. 



6. Genus Coccothrinax, Sarg. 

 DD. Calyx and corolla separate. 



7. Genus Sabal, Adans. 



I. Genus ROYSTONEA, Cook 



The Royal Palm {Roystonea regia, Cook) is one of the 

 noblest of tropical trees, bearing its abundant crown of foliage, 

 each leaf 10 to 12 feet long, and bending gradually outward and 

 downward, with a grace peculiarly its own. The tall trunks, 

 80 to 100 feet in height, rise from abruptly flaring bases, and are 

 enlarged in the middle. The rind is pale grey tinged with orange, 

 except for the upper 10 feet or more, which is always green. 

 The flowers of this tree are borne in branched spikes, about 2 

 feet long, and clustered at the base of the leafy crown. They 

 bloom in January and February, and are succeeded by oblong 

 berries, violet in colour and ^ inch long. 



The trees grow from Bay Biscayne around the southern 

 point of Florida and on Long's Key, the vanguard of a host that 

 inhabits Central America and the West Indies, They are also 

 found on hummock lands up the Rogers River, east of Collier's 

 Bay. A famous avenue tree in tropical cities, the trunks are 

 used for piles of wharves, and walking sticks are made from the 

 dense outer rind. 



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