The Royal Palms of Royal Palm

Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade County, Homestead


royal palm trees
It might seem hard to believe given their ubiquitous presence in the South Florida landscape but royal palms in the wild are actually an endangered species. Their native range extends through portions of extreme South Florida, including portions of Everglades National Park.

These tall, magnificent trees (yes trees) graced the area known as Royal Palm Hammock, which in 1916 became Royal Palm State Park, Florida's first state park and later the foundation for Everglades National Park. A 1932 survey of land for the then-proposed Everglades National Park noted the "fine set of royal palms" that graced this area. We took this photo at the Royal Palm Visitors' Center near the Anhinga Trail. The Gumbo Limbo Trail is just to the right beyond the frame of this photo.

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Published by Wild South Florida, PO Box 7241, Delray Beach, FL 33482.
Photographs by David Sedore. Photographs are property of the publishers and may not be used without permission.