Roystonea altissima is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, endemic to Jamaica, where it grows on hillsides and mountain slopes near the interior of the island. The name altissima is Latin for "highest", however they are not the tallest species in the genus Roystonea. They are usually found just over sea-level to 900 m in elevation.

Description

Trunks of R. altissima are solitary, 30 cm in width and 20 m in height; gently tapering, the trunk shows leaf scar rings on its youngest parts. The crownshaft reaches nearly 2 m, deep green in color, and slightly swollen at the base. The spherical leaf crown usually holds 15 to 20 leaves, gently recurved, to 4 m in length on short petioles. The 70 cm leaflets and closely-spaced along the rachis, slightly angled, creating a mildly plumose leaf. Male flowers on the inflorescence are violet, fruits are an obovoid drupe, 1.25 cm long, purple to black when ripe, containing a single seed.

References

Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN-10: 0881925586 / ISBN-13: 978-0881925586 (Page 441-442)