Thrinax radiata | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Genus: | Thrinax |
Species: | T. radiata |
Binomial name | |
Thrinax radiata Lodd. ex Schult. & Schult.f. | |
Synonyms [3] | |
Coccothrinax radiata Contents |
Thrinax radiata, [3] also known as the Florida thatch palm, [4] is a medium to slow growing palm in the family Arecaceae. It is native to many Caribbean islands, Mexico, Central America, and far southern Florida. Its natural habitat is sandy, calcareous soil in coastal areas.
Like all palms, this species grows thick and low to the ground before sending its meristem vertical, gaining the form of a slender tree. This species has no crownshaft and the canopy appears to emerge directly from the trunk. On average this species reaches a height of 20 feet. [5] It has large compoundly segmented leaves which are 4 to 5 feet wide and 2.5 feet long. [6] The leaves are palmate and divide into segments about halfway down their length with the leaf emerging from the petiole in what is described as a pointed hastula shape. The entire canopy consists of between 10 and 20 large leaves and on average gains only 6 inches of height per year. The shape of the canopy varies depending on its amount of insolation, with full sun specimens appearing more globular or compact, and shaded specimens having a longer, more spread-out canopy. This species can flower when the tree is only 6 feet tall. The inflorescences exceed 3 feet in length, arch downwards, and can extend below the frond. The flowers are white, bisexual, and occur year-round, with peak production in the spring. The resulting fruits, called drupes, are white and can also be seen year round.
It can be distinguished from the similar-looking genus Coccothrinax by its white drupes, whereas the drupes in Coccothrinax are black or yellow. Another distinguishing characteristic of Thrinax are its split leaf bases, while the leaf bases of Coccothrinax are fused. [6]
Common names include Florida thatch palm, Jamaican thatch, Jamaica thatch palm, chit, silk-top thatch palm, sea thatch palm, and Caribbean thatch palm. [6]
Thrinax radiata is found primarily in coastal scrub areas from the Caribbean to Mexico, and can even grow in exposed limestone. It is also occasionally found in pinelands in South Florida and semi-evergreen forests in the Yucatán Peninsula. Its seeds are eaten and presumably dispersed by many animals including bats, spider monkeys, toucans, armadillos, and deer. Young leaves are also eaten by spider monkeys, and mature ones serve as a refuge for several bat species. [7] In Florida (Elliott Key in particular), the invasive Mexican gray squirrel (Sciurus aureogaster) has had an extremely negative impact on T. radiata populations. It uses palm fibers as nesting materials and consumes the palm itself, often killing the plant. [8]
In the wild, this species almost always grows close to coastal areas where it is adapted to tolerating heavy winds, high concentrations of salt, and even drought. It naturally grows in sandy and calcareous soils where it does best in high pH soil. This species is native to regions of southern Florida, the Florida Keys and Puerto Rico in the United States, western Cuba, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua. [6]
It was once thought to belong to the related genus Coccothrinax.
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Simplified phylogeny of the Cryosophileae based on four nuclear genes and the matK plastid gene. [9] |
This species appears to be secure globally; however, it is rare at the northern edge of its range in Florida. While it is commonly cultivated as a landscape plant in residential areas, its status is the wild in Florida is poor and it is only rarely encountered. [4] There are currently no specific efforts being undertaken to reduce the severity of this status in the United States. There are, however, restrictions on harvesting in Mexico, where human use has had a greater impact on T. radiata populations. [7]
This species is commonly used as a landscaping tree along roadways and in residential areas in South Florida (zone 10b and 11a). Today, it is being widely planted outside of its natural historic range in South Florida and the Caribbean because of its ability to grow under various conditions. It is used by gardeners and can be grown in containers or in arboretums, which showcase this species’ prolific inflorescences and fruit. [6] Its common name derives from the use of its fronds in thatched roofing. [10] Its fronds are the most used part of the palm, being utilized in broom construction, handicrafts, and food wrapping. T. radiata's white fruit are edible. [11] Its trunks have recently been used to construct lobster traps by fishermen in the Yucatán Peninsula. [12]
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees. Currently, 181 genera with around 2,600 species are known, most of which are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, arranged at the top of an unbranched stem, except for the Hyphaene genus, who has branched palms. However, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts.
Zamia furfuracea is a cycad endemic to southeastern Veracruz state in eastern Mexico.
The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden is a frost-free arboretum and botanical garden containing a collection of trees, shrubs, and palms, including several "champion tree" specimens. It is located on Stock Island in the municipality of Key West, Florida, United States. It is open daily. There is a nominal fee for admission, with free admission for locals on the first Sunday of every month.
Roystonea is a genus of eleven species of monoecious palms, native to the Neotropics, in the Caribbean, the adjacent coasts of Florida in the United States, Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Commonly known as the royal palms, the genus was named after Roy Stone, a U.S. Army engineer. It contains some of the most recognizable and commonly cultivated palms of tropical and subtropical regions.
Acoelorrhaphe is a genus of palms with single species Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, known as the Paurotis palm, Everglades palm or Madeira palm in English and cubas, tique, and papta in Spanish.
Coccothrinax is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae. There are more than 50 species described in the genus, plus many synonyms and subspecies. A new species was described as recently as 2017. Many Coccothrinax produce thatch. In Spanish-speaking countries, guano is a common name applied to Coccothrinax palms. The species are native throughout the Caribbean, the Bahamas, extreme southern Florida and southeastern Mexico, but most of the species are known only from Cuba.
Thatch palm is a common name for several different species of palm trees that are used for thatching, and may refer to:
Pandanus utilis, the common screwpine is, despite its name, a monocot and not a pine. It is native to Madagascar and naturalised in Mauritius and the Seychelles.
Coccothrinax argentata, commonly called the Florida silver palm, is a species of palm tree. It is native to south Florida, southeast Mexico, Colombia and to the West Indies, where it is found in the Bahamas, the southwest Caribbean and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Its natural habitat is rocky, calcareous soil in coastal scrubland and hammock communities.
Zombia antillarum, commonly known as the zombie palm, is a species of palm tree and the only member of the genus Zombia. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles. Usually found in dry, hilly areas of northern and southern Haiti and the northwest of the Dominican Republic, Z. antillarum is a relatively short fan palm with clustered stems and a very distinctive appearance caused by its persistent spiny leaf sheaths. Threatened by habitat destruction in Haiti, Z. antillarum is a popular ornamental species due to its distinctive appearance, low maintenance requirements and salt tolerance.
The Mexican gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to Guatemala and eastern and southern Mexico. It has been introduced to the Florida Keys.
Coccothrinax crinita is a palm which is endemic to Cuba. Like other members of the genus Coccothrinax, C. barbadensis is a fan palm.
Coccothrinax jamaicensis, the silver thatch or Jamaican silver thatch, is a fan palm that is endemic to Jamaica.
Sabal palmetto, also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the far Southeast United States, the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, the West Indies, and the Bahamas.
Leucothrinax morrisii, the Key thatch palm, is a small palm which is native to the Greater Antilles, northern Lesser Antilles, The Bahamas and Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States.
The Cuban dry forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion that occupies 65,800 km2 (25,400 sq mi) on Cuba and Isla de la Juventud. The ecoregion receives 1,000–2,000 mm (39–79 in) of rainfall annually. Cuban dry forests can be differentiated into evergreen forests, semi-deciduous forests, mogotes, and sclerophyllous low forests.
The South Florida rocklands ecoregion, in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, occurs in southern Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States, where they would naturally cover an area of 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi). These forests form on limestone outcrops with very thin soil; the higher elevation separating them from other habitats such as coastal marshes and marl prairies. On mainland Florida, rocklands exist primarily on the Miami Rock Ridge, which extends from the Miami River south to Everglades National Park. South Florida rocklands are further divided into pine rocklands and rockland hammocks.
The Cayman Islands xeric scrub ecoregion covers a portion of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The dry ('xeric') parts of the island are surrounded by mangroves, dry forest, or developed areas. Grand Cayman Island has been heavily cleared or degraded for human development; while the less populated islands have more intact shrub and wooded habitat.