Anatomical feature of royal palm leaf sheath

摘要

Royal palm (Roystonea regia) is an ornamental plant species which are copiously planted in many landscapes in the urban area. At the end of their life cycle, the palm fall naturally and it becomes waste. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anatomical characteristics of both macroscopic and microscopic features to explore some potential uses. This study found that the length average of the leaf sheath of royal palm was 161.60 cm with the width of 53.47 cm, and the thickness was about 3.54 mm which was decreasing from the center or core to the edge. The percentage of vascular bundle was increasing from edge to core at the width-radial direction and was followed by the increasing of diameter of vascular bundle toward core of the leaf sheath. The type of vascular bundle was type I with the majority component of the vascular bundle at the positon in the center part in the leaf sheath cell structure. Based on its properties the leaf sheath has the potential to be used as the particle component for composite boards.