Copernicia hospita Mart.

 
  • Family : ARECACEAE
    (Palm Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : NARIYAL FAMILY (नारियल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Arecaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Copernicia escarzana León
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Copernicia hospita Mart.
  • Common name : Blue yarey palm, Cuban wax palm, Wax palm
  • Vernacular name :
    • Mezhugu panai (Tamil)
  • Habit : Palm
  • Habitat : Cultivated
  • Key identification features : Majestic, solitary, medium-sized palm reaching heights of up to 10–15 m; Trunk smooth, columnar, grey, lightly ringed with old leaf scars, and often crowned by a petticoat of persistent dead leaves below the crown; Crown large, symmetrical, composed of numerous fan-shaped (palmate), waxy, bluish-green to silverish-green fronds, lending the palm a highly ornamental, silvery appearance; Leaves palmate, induplicate, 18 to 30, deeply divided, wedge-shaped, stiff, blade upto 2 m long and ~60 cm wide, surface waxy, glaucous bluish-green to silvery-green, petiole long, robust, supporting large leaf blades, unarmed or finely toothed near base, thick, coriaceous; Inflorescence interfoliar, arching to pendant, upto 1.8m long, branched, brown to greyish-brown; Flowers small, creamy to brownish, likely unisexual, borne in clusters along rachillae; Fruit globose drupe, about 1cm in diameter, ripens from green to black.
  • Flower, Fruit : March-June
  • Distribution :
    • Tamil Nadu : Most of the districts
  • Native : Cuba
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Cuba
  • Literature :
    • Narasimhan, D. & Irwin, Sheeba. (2021). Flowering Plants of Tamil Nadu: A Compendium.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Copernicia hospita
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Copernicia hospita. Downloaded on 4 October 2026.

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution

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