Syagrus romanzoffiana

Common Name: queen palm

Family: Arecaceae

Common Synonyms: Arecastrum romanzoffiana, Calappa acrocomioides, C. martiana, C. plumosa, C. romanzoffiana, Cocos acrocomioides, C. arechvaletana

USDA Hardiness Zone: 9B-11

Growth Habit: Tree

Origin: South America

FISC Category: 2

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No

Introduction Date: Earliest Florida specimen available vouchered in 1964

IFAS Assessment:

• North: CAUTION
• Central: CAUTION
• South: CAUTION

Description

Palm tree with a single trunk. Leaves are glossy, bright green, soft, pinnate and form a drooping canopy. Bright orange fruit produced in handing clusters ripen during the winter months. The trunk is grey and retains rings from old leaf scars.

Habitat

Disturbed hammocks and woodlands. Central and southern peninsula.

Comments

Planted in southern and central Florida. Volunteers readily in natural areas. Escaped from cultivation.

Control Methods

• Manual: Manual: hand pull seedlings, chainsaw mature trees down near the base.
• Chemical: NA
• Biological: NA

Control Notes

NA

References

IFAS. 2011. Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WG/WG20900.pdf Accessed June 13 2017.

Langeland, K.A., H.M. Cherry, C.M. McCormick, K.C. Burks. 2008. Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas-Second Edition. IFAS Publication SP 257. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Gilman, Edward F. and Watson, Dennis G. IFAS. 2003. Syagrus romanzoffiana: Queen Palm. http://polk.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/documents/publications/Queen%20palm.pdf Accessed June 13, 2017.

Wunderlin, Richard P., and Bruce F. Hansen. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. 3rd ed. Gainesville, FL: U of Florida, 2011.