| Royal Palm | |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Skincolor: | white with bands of metallic black |
| Type: | turkey |
| Latin: | Meleagris gallopavo |
The Royal Palm is a breed of domestic turkey. It is not primarily selected for meat production, and is usually kept as an ornamental bird with a unique appearance, largely white with bands of metallic black.
The Royal Palm first appeared in the 1920s on a farm in Lake Worth, Florida, apparently as a cross between Black, Bronze, Narragansett, and native turkeys.http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/royalpalm.html Years of selective breeding followed to stabilize the coloring, and the Royal Palm was finally accepted by the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1971. In Europe, a turkey with similar coloration is sometimes called the Cröllwitzer, Pied, or Black-laced White.http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/royalpalm.html
Most heritage turkey breeds declined after the adoption of the Broad Breasted White by the turkey industry; the Royal Palm is an endangered breed and is classified as "watch" by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. It is also included in Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste, a catalog of heritage foods in danger of extinction. The Australian and United States both report the breed as endangered to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.[1]