CubaPLUS Magazine

The royal palm -Roystonea regia-, is the most legendary plant, recognized and loved as the country's national tree and therefore one with the most present national symbols within the representations of the Coat of Arms, art and the magnificent surroundings of valleys and mountains.

With its living and majestic presence, beautiful, slender and visible from a great distance, it brings us the message of haughtiness, healthy pride and firm principles, in open defiance of the strength of the natural elements or in conjunction with them when they are peaceful and friendly, united.

From the Arecaceae family, no one can ignore it, once it is well planted in its roots, either from a savannah or plain full of them, or when it stands alone in a more biodiverse Cuban forest.

In Cuba, the palm groves or &palmaritos" scattered throughout all corners of our countryside are famous. In addition to beautifying the landscape in a special way, they provide the utility of their wood and branches, which dry are called yaguas or guano, of great versatility in their use, both in the construction of houses and in very fine handicrafts.

Its clusters of small fruits, commonly called palmiches, serve as fertile and protein food for livestock, from which a quality oil is obtained and its blooms help the life cycles of the industrious bees. Thus, they fulfill an invaluable mission within nature.

Uses in natural medicine are also attributed to it, due to the rich components of its oils and fruits, and it is linked to rituals and customs of religions of African origin and rural peasantry, coming from emigrants from the Canary Islands.

Farmers consider that when it is not wild, its propagation or cultivation is easy, which is why it is one of the most present decorative palms in Cuban habitats, even artificially designed. There is great pride in the royal palm, which is indigenous, although the species is known to exist in other areas of the Caribbean as well.

With an average height of up to 25 meters, which in exceptional cases reaches 40, it is a glory to see the Cuban royal palm raising its green plumes to the sky, always saying that we are in free Cuba, like the &mambises" of the independence.