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The carnauba wax palm, Copernicia prunifera, may be one of the most economically important as well as aesthetically pleasing palms around. It gets its name from the valuable heat resistant wax, which is harvested from the leaves. The carnauba wax palm grows to 30 ft (9.1 m) tall with a single gray trunk which is usually smooth on the top 1/3, while the lower 2/3 is marked with persistent leaf bases in a pleasing spiraling pattern. The crown is composed of about 24 fan shaped blue to green waxy leaves. Each leaf is deeply divided halfway into many segments and is about 3-4 ft (0.9-1.2 m) wide. The petioles are 2 -3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) long and are protectively covered with long curved spines.
Location
Culture
Cultivated for commercial wax production in Brazil, the carnauba wax palm is also a highly prized, but little used, landscape specimen with few diseases or insect problems. With its ornamental blue/green fan shaped leaves and unique persistent lower leaf bases, this palm is ideal for the tropical home or commercial landscape. Care should be taken to allow plenty of room for this palm's future growth so it can achieve its best form.
Features There are several other members of this genus that are sometimes seen in South Florida. There's the Bailey palm (Copernicia baileyana) with it's "Coke bottle" trunk. From nearby Cuba we have the Cuban wax palm (Copernicia hospita) and the Cuban petticoat palm (Copernicia macroglossa) a very unique looker that has leaves that are almost stemless.
Jeff Bielski 12/21/00; updated 11/14/03
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