Roystonea oleracea O.F.Cook

A large palm. The trunk is whitish and 30 m tall. It is 50 cm across. The trunk is the same width throughout except for a bulge at the base. The leaves are pinnate and green. The leaves are 5-7 m long. They are flat at the bottom of the crown. This is because the leaflets are placed in one plane. There is a prominent green crown-shaft. It is 2 m long. The leaflets are light green and crowded along the midrib in 2 ranks on the same plane. The flower stalk comes out below the crown-shaft. It is over 1 m long and has many branches. The flowers are white or cream. The fruit are small, round and bright red to purplish black. They are 15-20 mm long by 8-10 mm wide.

A tropical plant. It suits the tropics and subtropics. It grows in swampy areas. It also grows on the edge of the rainforest. It grows from sea level to 1760 m altitude. In Cairns Botanical Gardens. In Townsville palmetum. It grows in plant hardiness zones 11-12.

The cabbage or growing point is eaten. It is pickled or boiled. The very young flower stalk is pickled and eaten. The pith is eaten by making a form of sago from the starch. The fruit yield a fatty oil which is edible.

Plants are grown from seed. The seed are small and round and germinate easily. They take about 3 months to germinate.