Moindou’s Ryawa valley is home to New Caledonia’s highest concentration of royal palms. Able to reach 50 meters in height, over 500 of these trees stand majestically there, the pride of the municipality and their owner.
While Ryawa valley is famed for its concentration of Roystonea Regia (the scientific name for the royal palm), it is not the only site in Moindou to boast this royal presence. And with good reason!
Moindou owes the introduction of this species stemming from Cuba to the Reunionese Jean-Louis Casimir Boyer (originally from the Alpes of Haute-Provence!) who arrived in New Caledonia in 1874 in view of growing coffee beans. Carried in his suitcases were royal palm seeds, which soon appreciated the local humid and sunny climate.
Ryawa: where the palm reigns supreme!
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![Over 1500 royal palms in Moindou!]()
Over 1500 royal palms in Moindou!
Though Casimir Boyer planted his first few palms on top of the Médouya, he would seed a considerable number of the plants when a flash flood carried off his suitcase and seeds into the waves! Thus scattered, the royal palm seeds would colonize the whole municipality. Almost a century and a half later, Moindou now has almost 1500 royal palms, including those of the garden of the future at the heart of the village!
