FNPS Plant Database

Roystonea regia

royal palm
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

royal palm

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Roystonea regia

Family:

Arecaceae (Palmae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

50-100 ft tall by 15-30 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

Evergreen. Life span 100+ years (Nelson 2003).

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Hurricane Wind Resistance, Interesting Foliage, Interesting Bark

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant or street tree.

Considerations:

This is a tall palm, make sure it has room to grow.

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Seed.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

acidic to neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

10A,10B,11

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host for monk skipper (Minno & Minno 1999)

Various birds and other wildlife eat the fruit.

Native Habitats:

Tropical rockland hammock, Everglades tree islands.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Old fronds can be extremely heavy and are known to damage buildings when they fall (Haele and Brookwell 1999), so save the palm by not planting it overly close to a building.
FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

Broschat, T. K. (2024). Roystonea regia : Royal Palm (ENH-732/ST574). ( https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST574 ). Accessed 2026. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.


Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell. (1999). Native Florida Plants. Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, TX.


Minno, Marc, and Maria Minno. (1999). Florida Butterfly Gardening: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Butterflies. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Nelson, Gil. (2003). Florida's Best Landscape Plants: 200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Osorio, Rufino. (2001). A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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