Florida Thatch Palm

Thrinax radiata Lodd. ex Schult. & Schult. f.

THRY-nax  raid-ee-AY-tah

Arecaceae

Explanation of name: From Greek thrinax, a trident, probably a reference to the split petiole bases, or possibly (according to RI2) to the leaf segments. Radiata apparently refers to the evenly radiating leaf veins and pleats.

Natural range: Monroe County, FL (WU1), also Bahamas, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Belize, Yucatan (RI2).  Natural habitat: Coastal thickets (WU1)

Recognition (data largely from WU1): Florida Thatch Palm is a tall, palmate-leaf, single-trunked, slender-trunked palm with the leaf segments deeply divided, overlapping, split, and drooping. Thrinax and Coccothrinax both differ from Sabal palms by having palmate (vs. costapalmate) leaves. Thrinax differs from Coccothrinax by having white (vs. blackish) fruits, inflorescences as long as or longer than the leaves (vs. shorter than the leaves), and petioles split at the base (vs. not split). Thrinax radiata differs from the also-cultivated Key Thatch Palm (Leucothrinax morrisii (H. Wendl.) C. E. Lewis & Zona,aka Thrinax morrisii H. Wendl.) by having the undersides of the leaves green (vs. waxy blue-green), and by having the petiole bases split once (vs. multiple splits).

Landscape uses: A smallish, slow-growing, single-trunked (rarely suckering) palm highly tolerant of seashore and alkaline conditions. ELL gives 2-3 months for germination.