Coccothrinax argentata

Common name

silver palm, Florida silver palm

Description

Stems: Solitary, erect stems, to 10 m tall (usually shorter in cultivation), up to 20 cm in diameter, with faint rings from leaf leaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
scars. Stems of younger individuals are covered with matted fibers from old leaf leaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
bases, as are the upper reaches of older palms. Leaves: Palmate, induplicate,induplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create a V-shape, with the midrib lower than the margins (so that rain might fall "into a valley"), the folding is induplicate.
, with blade (about 1 m across) divided more than three-fourths its length by numerous, narrow segments that droop at the tips and flex from side to side. The upper leaf leaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
surface is bright green; the undersurface, silvery; leaftips, bifid; transverse veinlets are not obvious. The fibrous leaf leaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
sheath has two layers, and the unarmed petiole is not split at the base. Flowers and fruits: Inflorescence is short compared with leaves, to 60 cm long, branched to two orders with up to 9 primary branches. The white flowers have both male and female parts. The fruits are spherical (5-13 mm in diameter) and purplish-black when ripe.

Diagnostic features

Field: Erect fan palms found on limestone soils, including pine rocklands and sandy dunes; leaf leaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
sheath with finely woven fibers; unarmed margins on petiole that does not split at the base.

Lab: Silvery scales on the underside of the leaf leaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
blade and no visible transverse veinlets.

May be confused with

Thrinax species, but the petioles of Thrinax split at the base while those of Coccothrinax do not.

Distribution

Native to Mexico, the Caribbean islands and Florida

Scientific name

Coccothrinax argentata (Jacq.) Bailey

Family

Arecaceae/Palmae

Synonyms

Palma argentata Jacq.

Thrinax garberi Chapm.

Coccothrinax garberi (Chapm.) Sarg.

Coccothrinax jucunda Sarg.

Thrinax altissima N.Taylor