FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
183 
are equalled by few and surpassed by 
scarcely any of the whole order of 
palms. Even ere the anxious voyager 
has set his foot on shore, he has al¬ 
ready perceived their graceful foliage 
fluttering in the breeze, and waving, 
as it were, a hearty welcome to the 
newly-arriving steamer. Since the time 
when Columbus first discovered the 
West Indian Isles to the present day, 
these palms have been seen and ad¬ 
mired by all who possess an eye for 
the beautiful.” 
Oreodoxa regia , Kunth., the true 
Royal Palm, the Palma real of Cuba, 
is regarded the most beautiful, most 
imposing and noblest of all palms for 
ornamental planting in the tropics. The 
grand avenue of these palms at Boto- 
fago, the Botanical garden near Rio de 
Janeiro, has a world-wide fame. It is 
the avenue palm of Honolulu and other 
places in Hawaii, and figures in almost 
all photographs of the sceneries of 
these islands. It is likewise largely 
planted at Paradenyia, Ceylon, and at 
Buitenzorg*, Java—two of the world’s 
most famous botanical gardens. The 
Royal Palm is a native of Florida, be¬ 
ing found quite abundantly in the Ever¬ 
glades, where it forms trunks 50 to 60 
feet high, bearing magnificent crowns 
of very long feathery leaves. It is 
found sparingly along the lower Kis¬ 
simmee and on the Caloosahatchee, and 
is said to have grown as far north as 
the Manatee River. In fact the Royal 
Palm Nurseries at Oneco were named 
by the lamented Mr. P. W. Reasoner 
after these magnificent and beautiful 
palms. It is much planted around 
Biscayne Bay, at Fort Myers, Punta 
Gorda and Bradentown, and it invar¬ 
iably forms imposing specimens in a 
few years if planted on hammock and 
low land. It will not grow on high, 
dry pine land. Mr. E. N. Reasoner 
says “that it has immense, plumy, 
feathery leaves and a straight, white 
trunk.” “It is a good tree,” he con¬ 
tinues, “for extreme South Florida for 
avenue planting, and is valuable in all 
sizes, but especially when four feet or 
over in height.” The late Mr. P. W. 
Reasoner mentions in one of his arti- 
% 
cles a place which was known as Palma 
Sola, where two very tall and noble 
specimens grew which could be seen 
far out in the gulf. One winter a few 
vandals cut down these trees wantonly, 
which had been landmarks for centu¬ 
ries—the most northern of its habitat. 
In Orlando, where so many northern 
plant and flower-lovers have their win¬ 
ter homes, I have never seen the Roy¬ 
al Palm in the gardens, and I do not 
think that it will be entirely hardy so 
far north. It can, however, stand a 
few degrees of cold unharmed, suffer¬ 
ing less than the Cocoanut Palm, It 
is entirely smooth all over, being not 
provided with spines or thorns as many 
other palms. It also occurs abundant¬ 
ly in Cuba, Antigua, etc. 
Oredoxa oleracca Mart., the Royal 
Cabbage Palm, the Palmiste of Ja¬ 
maica, is one of the most common 
palms of the West Indies with trunks 
100 to 120 feet high. 
Oredoxa Borinquena, the Porto Rico 
Royal Palm, differs from the Florida 
species in being still more vigorous and 
more stocky. Mr. C. T. Simpson in¬ 
forms me that all these species do well 
