Queen Palm

The Essence

"The Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana), also known as the Cocos palm, Jeriva, or Pindo palm, is one of the most widely planted ornamental palms in subtropical regions worldwide. A medium-sized, single-trunked feather palm, it is valued for its fast growth and graceful arching crown, and it is relatively cold-hardy for a tree with such a tropical look. Native to South America, it reaches maturity at up to 15 m (49 ft) tall, carrying a smooth gray trunk and long arching leaves whose many slender leaflets give the canopy its airy, feathery appearance. In spring and summer large inflorescences of cream-colored flowers emerge from within the canopy, followed by heavy clusters of bright orange fruits. The fruit is a hard nut wrapped in a thin layer of fibrous, sticky orange flesh that tastes like a mixture of plum and banana. Hardy to about -5 degrees C (USDA zone 9a-9B), it is widely grown outdoors in mild climates and under glass where winters are colder, as in the UK."

The palm carries the name of a Russian statesman because it commemorates Nikolay Rumyantsev, the patron of Russia's first round-the-world voyage. Today the species is also of practical value: it hybridizes with Butia to produce the cold-hardy mule palm (x Butiagrus nabonnandii).