Roystonea stellata explained

Roystonea stellata is an extinct species of palm endemic to Yagruma terrace in the Maisí region of Guantánamo Province in eastern Cuba. The species is known from only a single collection made by French-born botanist Frère León in 1939.

Description

Roystonea stellata was a large palm which reached heights of 15m (49feet). The 95cm (37inches) inflorescences bears white male and female flowers. Fruit were 9.8- long and 7.8mm8.5mm wide, and black when ripe. The single known collection is not complete enough for a complete description.[1]

Status

No specimens have been found in repeated surveys of its habitat since the 1990s, and thus R. stellata is probably extinct.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Zona . Scott . December 1996 . Roystonea (Arecaceae: Arecoideae) . Flora Neotropica . 71 . 1–35 . no .
  2. Zona. Scott. Raúl Verdecia . Angela Leiva Sánchez . Carl E. Lewis . Mike Maunder . 2007. The conservation status of West Indian palms (Arecaceae). Oryx. 41. 3. 300–05. 10.1017/S0030605307000404. free.