The king

For the Cuban peasant, the Royal Palm offers the most bountiful providence.

When the long fronds, which for months have been the playthings of the wind, drop off, they are gathered up. The stalk ("yagua") is clearly visible, and it is this part that is used to make the walls of the bohio [rural home], while the leaf blade ("penca") is used for the roof. The stalk is useful because it is so long.

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Illustration: Marie-Victorin, Itin?raires

A palm resembles a tree, but in botanical terms it is a sort of grass, something like a bunch of celery. The overlapping "stems" (yaguas) form the "trunk".

Yaguas drying in the sun.

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A peasant carrying yaguas to build a bohio.

If it rains, pedestrians
keep their heads dry beneath a "capa de yagua".

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Under the Cuban Sun with Marie-Victorin [Jardin botanique de Montréal]