R H E CUBA REVIEW 



11 



A royal palm tree shedding one of its? l<?af bases or ya.:j:uas. 



Althouo:h this palm is generally considered quite useless as timber, the thin outside layer 

 of hard wood is used more or less extensively for making ram rods, unbrella handles, walking 

 sticks and for other special purposes; it is also used for posts, fences, columns, boards, coffee 

 mortars, gutters and house walls. In the country districts of Cuba the wood is utilized for a 

 great variety of purposes, and is highly esteemed on account of its hardness, weight and dur- 

 ability. 



im^Whilc the uses of the timVjer of this palm are niunerous they appear quite inconspicuous 

 when compared with those of the leaves. The ai)i)lications are so numerous among the people 

 of Cuba as to entitle this palm to be called the national plant of Cuba. The number of uses 

 to which the leaves are put may be said to be infinite. The most important part is the yagua 

 or sheathing base of the leaf, which furnishes the simple Cuban many of his necessities. The 

 large terminal pinnate leaves bear long sheathing leafstalks which form a cylinder clear around 

 the stem and are from four to nine feet long with a width when flattened out equal to the cir- 

 cumference of the trunk. The leaves proper, of which there are about 20, are attached to the 

 ujiper end of the clasping bases; the lower one of which is shed every three or four weeks, 

 leaving a well-marked ring or scar where it was attached. 



