Florida Silver Palm

Coccothrinax argenta

Florida Silver Palm

Florida Silver Palm, photographed at National Key Deer Refuge, Big Pine Key, Monroe County, in December 2013.


There are seemingly 9 zillion species of palms growing in Florida, but of those 9 zillion only 12 are actually native to the state. One of those 12 one bears the state name, the Florida silver palm, Coccothrinax argentata.

But despite the name, the Florida silver palm is found only in four southeastern coastal counties, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Even within those counties, the Florida silver palm is rare enough to be state-listed as threatened.

Florida is the only state where the namesake palm is found in the wild..

However, the Florida silver palm is found throughout the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, plus southeastern Mexico (the Yucatan Peninsula), a few islands off the coast of Honduras in Central America and few islands off the coast of Colombia.

NatureServe lists the Florida silver palm as “apparently secure” from extinction because of its wide natural range and distribution.

At one time, there were large stands of these palms, but development and loss of habitat has reduced its presence to parks and preserves and places where it’s used as a landscaping element.

It’s not very tall as palms go, usually reaching only between six and 15 feet, with a spread of about six or seven feet. Florida silver palms can on occasion reach 20 or more under ideal conditions.

The contrast between the bright green of its star-shaped leaves as seen from above and the silvery blue-green of its undersides is the source of its name and of its good looks.

Florida silver palms usually have a single bright gray trunk, but it can be multi-stemmed. The tops of mature trees are marked with fibrous scars, the remains of old leaves. Younger trees might have these scars along their entire trunk.

It is tough, grows in full sun to part shade, in nutrient-poor soil with a high pH and even can withstand a bit of frost. It is a slow-grower, however. One estimate we’ve seen: it takes a Florida silver palm six-and-a-half years to grow a foot.

The flowers are white, borne on a branched “spike” called an inflorescence. Each flower has both male and female parts. The fruit is small and round with a ridge that some say makes it look like a miniature brain.

Favorite habitats for the Florida silver palm include pine rocklands of Miami-Dade County and the Keys and scrubby coastal hammocks.

Florida silver palms are used in landscaping, but because of their slow-growth, tend to be expensive. There’s also the possibility that a tree for sale might have been poached, dug up from a preserve, so it’s important to deal with legitimate sources.

They’re used as specimen trees, can be be grouped together or even used as a hedge because of their slow rate of growth. Also among its positive characteristics is this: it is hurricane resistant.

Other human uses: the trunks have been used as logs, and the leaves weaved into baskets, hats and other items.

Florida silver palms are members of Arecaceae, the palm tree family.

National Key Deer Refuge

Photo Gallery — Click on photo for larger image





Published by Wild South Florida, PO Box 7241, Delray Beach, FL 33482.

Photographs by David Sedore. Photographs are property of the publishers and may not be used without permission.