Royal Palm Problem

[plabrada]

I am a South Florida resident and have (2) Royal Palms that seem to be developing some kind of disease.  The trunk starts to develop white striations right before the green crown.   I had this problem with another palm and it eventually died from a hurricane severing the trunk where these striations were.  It appears to cause the tree to weaken and the trunk to eventually rot.  I have seen the same thing on several other Royal Palms here in South Florida, so it seems to be fairly common.  

Does anyone know what this is and if there is a remedy for it?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[gsn]

It is just the leaf base scars,from where the last frond fell off.

If you look down from the top you will see that each successive one is darker. this is very natural on a crown shafted palm like the royal.

Looks very healthy to me,no problem with the tree that I can see!

[redant]

"It is just the leaf base scars,from where the last frond fell off."

Initially I thought the same. Thing is with Royals the fronds drop off in different order. The trailing edge that would rip the trunk should not always be on this same side.

Besides that observation I have no idea what the cause would be.

[plabrada]

The striations that I am referring to are vertical, not the normal horizontal ones caused by the fronds falling off.

[Ashton]

The lines you're describing are plainly evident. I've got 5 royals and not a one has anything remotely similar...thank God.

I had a neighbor whose queen did have something similar. I walked over and tapped the area with my fist and it had a dull sound, versus the healthier parts of the trunk that had a distinct clunk. I told him that his palm was sick with rot and shortly after that the wind got it. If it's not to late you might be able to add something like subdue to the root ball or cleary's 3336 to the bud. I am by no means an expert so perhaps someone else with more experience can help out.  Best wishes.

Ashton

[Jeff Searle]

I have never seen or noticed this before. uhmm?????

 Let me ask you, could it be from mechanical damage related? Meaning, was there a large board proping it up at one time, or could something close by rub up against it? Or can you tell if this is some type of an injury coming from within. Hard to say from looking at a pic. Just can't say.

   Jeff