''Copernicia'' is a
genus of
palms native to
South America and the
Greater Antilles. Of the known species and
nothospecies #REDIRECT Hybrid name
In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. ...
(
hybrids), 22 of the 27 are
endemic to
Cuba.
[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref> They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae
Corypheae is a tribe of palm trees in the subfamily Coryphoideae. In previous classifications, tribe Corypheae included four subtribes: Coryphinae, Livistoninae, Thrinacinae and Sabalinae, but recent phylogenetic studies have led to the genera ...
), with the leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The species are small to medium-sized trees growing to 5–30 m tall, typically occurring close to streams and rivers in savanna habitats.[Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.]
Species and hybrids
''Copernicia'' species and hybrids are as follows.
Natural hybrids
The genus is named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
In some of the species, the leaves are coated with a thin layer of wax, known as carnauba wax.
References
External links
Sorting ''Copernicia'' names
Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Copernicia''
Pictures of genus members
{{Taxonbar, from=Q135429
Trees of the Caribbean
Trees of South America
Arecaceae genera