Coccothrinax fagildei

Coccothrinax (koh-koh-TRIH-naks) fagildei (fah-GIHL-deh-ee)
Cuba. Photo by Paul Craft.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Coccothrinax (koh-koh-TRIH-naks) Species: fagildei (fah-GIHL-deh-ee)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Palmate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Fagilde's palm

Habitat and Distribution

Coccothrinax fagildei is endemic to a few cliffs, facing the sea by Santiago de Cuba.

Cuba. Photo by Paul Craft.

It grows on dogtooth limestone cliffs, which are virtually soilless. To be precise it grows among fallen rubble and rocks. The xeric environment with agaves and plumerias, has a high species diversity, and hosts quite a few endemic species, and the Fagilde's palm is one of them. What is low there is the biomass, in the sense of quantity of vegetation. It is fully tropical with no cold spells and there are 30m tall mamoncillo trees 1 km away by the river, where soil and water are abundant. The average annual temperature is 28C and yearly rainfall is 700 mm. (Carlo Morici)

Description

Clustering, 20-50 heads on most adult individuals. Its way of suckering, is roughly comparable to Acoelorraphe, but stems are quite thinner. Editing by edric.

Culture

Hardiness, USDA zones 10b-11. C. fagildei is a strong easy grower, but slow. Prefers very well drained limestone based soils. Drought tolerant, but would probably require tropical temperatures.