Feather-leaved Palms, Tree-cacti, and Yuccas (Plate 48) These feather-leaved palms are native in s. Florida and have ring- scarred trunks free of old leafstalk bases. Their leafstalks are not thorny. The only tree cacti in the eastern U.S. occur in s. Florida. The yuccas range more widely.FLORIDA ROYALPALM Roystonea elata (Bartr.) F. Harper Pl. 48 The smooth, cement-colored and bulging lower trunk topped by a smooth bright-green crownshaft cylinder is distinctive. Ring scars faint. Fronds 15' or longer. Frond segments do not lie flat but grow all around the midrib. Height to 125'. Flowers greenish white, developing from a spearlike green spathe at the base of the 5'6' long crownshaft. Fruits blue to purple, 1?2" in diameter, leathery. Rich soils, hammocks (swamp islands). Excerpted from A Field Guide to Eastern Trees: Eastern United States and Canada, Including the Midwest by George A. Petrides All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
