Borhidis Guano Palm

Coccothrinax barbadensis is an accepted Caribbean palm whose native range extends from the Lesser Antilles to northeastern Venezuela. Kew classifies it as a shrub or tree of the wet tropical biome; EPPO lists it as cultivated for ornamental use. The current nursery label “Borhidis Guano Palm” is retained as a vendor-used common name, while botanical sources associate that name with the distinct species C. borhidiana. [Kew Plants of the World Online](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:62346-2) · [EPPO Global Database](https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/CCXBA) · [University of Melbourne plant-name index](https://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/new/Sorting/Palms_English_index.html) ## Form and foliage The palm identification guide lists “silver palm,” “latanier,” and “Lesser Antilles silver thatch palm” as common names. It describes solitary, erect stems that can reach 15 m, with faint leaf-scar rings and woven, burlap-like fibers on young stems and the upper portions of older trunks. Its fan leaves have silvery undersides. The height label converts the published upper limit to approximately 49 feet; no single numeric height or spread is inferred. [Identifying Commonly Cultivated Palms](https://idtools.org/palm_id/index.cfm?entityID=3205&packageID=1109) ## Placement Kew places the species in the wet tropics and gives a native range in the Lesser Antilles and nearby northern South America. These range data do not establish a USDA zone or drought rating, so those values are not supplied here. ## Maintenance The consulted botanical and palm-identification sources do not give a species-specific pruning or irrigation schedule. Preserve the woven fibers that distinguish its trunk, and use regional palm guidance for watering and removal of dead fronds.