[6] Roystonea oleracea is a large palm which reaches heights of 40 metres (130 ft), with the record being 187 feet (57 meters) not including the crownshaft or fronds.

[11] As of 2008, there appear to be no molecular phylogenetic studies of Roystonea[10] and the relationship between R. oleracea and the rest of the genus is uncertain.

In 1838, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius transferred it to the genus Oreodoxa as O. oleracea.

[2] In 1900 Orator F. Cook proposed a new genus for the royal palms,[13] and moved this species from Oreodoxa to Roystonea the following year.

[14] In 1825 Curt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel described Euterpe caribaea, citing Jacquin's A. oleracea as a synonym.

In 1903 Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer and Ignatz Urban transferred this species to the genus Oreodoxa.

[8] Liberty Hyde Bailey described Roystonea venezuelana in 1949 based on a collection by Julian Steyermark.

In his 1996 monograph on the genus Roystonea, Scott Zona reported that he was "unable to find any consistent morphological or molecular differences between the two taxa", and placed R. venezuelana in synonym with R.

[8] Based on cultivated plants at the botanical garden in Georgetown, Guyana (then British Guiana), John Frederick Waby described Oreodoxa regia var.

[15] It is also called the cabbage tree, palmetto royal, palmier franc and chou palmiste, among other names.

[8] Roystonea oleracea is native to Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, northern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia.

[9] Roystonea oleracea fruit is an important component of the diet of orange-winged amazon parrots and red-bellied macaws in Nariva Swamp, Trinidad and Tobago.

Over the course of a study conducted between 1995 and 1996, R. oleracea fruit was an important element of the diet of both species between June and January, and was their dominant food item from July to November.

In his 1750 Natural History of Barbados Griffith Hughes reported that the immature inflorescences could be pickled and eaten as a vegetable.