Copernicia is a genus of palms native to South America and the Greater Antilles. Of the known species and nothospecies (hybrids), 22 of the 27 are endemic to Cuba.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves 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. 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.
Species and hybrids Copernicia species and hybrids are as follows.
Image Scientific name Distribution Copernicia alba Morong Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso Sul Copernicia baileyana León Cuba Copernicia berteroana Becc. Hispaniola Copernicia brittonorum León Cuba Copernicia cowellii Britton & P.Wilson Camagüey Province in CubaCopernicia curbeloi León Cuba Copernicia curtissii Becc. Cuba Copernicia ekmanii Burret Haiti Copernicia fallaensis León Cuba Copernicia gigas Ekman ex Burret Cuba Copernicia glabrescens H.Wendl. ex Becc Cuba Copernicia hospita Mart. Cuba Copernicia humicola León Cuba Copernicia longiglossa León Cuba Copernicia macroglossa Schaedtler Cuba Copernicia molinetii León Cuba Copernicia prunifera (Mill.) H.E.Moore northeastern Brazil Copernicia rigida Britton & P.Wilson Cuba Copernicia roigii León Cuba Copernicia tectorum (Kunth) Mart. Colombia, VenezuelaCopernicia yarey Burret Cuba
Natural hybrids Image Scientific name Parentage Distribution Copernicia × burretiana LeónC. hospita × C. macroglossa Cuba Copernicia × occidentalis LeónC. brittonanum × C. hospita Cuba Copernicia × textilis LeónC. baileyana × C. hospita Cuba Copernicia × vespertilionum León C. gigas × C. rigida Cuba Copernicia × shaferi Dahlgren & Glassman C. cowellii × C. hospita Cuba Copernicia × sueroana León C. hospita × C. rigida Cuba
References
External links Sorting Copernicia names Germplasm Resources Information Network: Copernicia Pictures of genus members