Coccothrinax argentata
ARECACEAE
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Bahamas
Description
Trunk type: Solitary. Hight: To 6 meters, (20'). Covered with fine brown fibers, closely woven at the top, bare, light gray at the bottom, 2 to 8 inches in diameter (5 to 20 cm). Leaf detail: Palmately compound, 12 to 18 leaves with silvery gray or golden bottom surface, 40-54 leaflets split at their ends., up to 3 feet wide (90 cm). Flower: White or light yellow, fragrant, dioecious flowers. Flower stalk coming from below the leaves, 2 feet long. Fruit: Purple-black berry, about 3/8" in diameter, when ripe. up to 0.5 inch in diameter (1.2 cm) Round. Seed: round, wrinkled. Flowers all year.
Culture & Care
Requirements: Full sun, moderate water, well drained position. Nutritional Requirements: Low to moderate; it can grow in nutrient poor soils, or soils with some organic content. Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without injury. Drought Tolerance: Moderate to high; does not require any supplemental water once established, but establishment may take a year or more to occur. Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.Can be grown from de-pulped seeds. Place in full sun in moist sandy soil with some organic content. Germination is in 6 weeks or more. Young plants may grow quickly to 2 feet in a couple of years, but from then on the growth is slow.
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