Copernicia baileyana is a palm

Arecaceae

Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...

 which is endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 to eastern and central Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. Like other members of this genus, C. baileyana is a fan palm

Fan palm

Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms in various genera with leaves that are palmately compound...

. Trees are 10 to 20 metres tall with stems 40 (to 60) centimetres in diameter and are sometimes swollen. The fruit is black, 1.8 to 2.3 centimetres long and 1.8 to 2 cm in diameter.

The leaves are used for weaving hats, baskets and other items. They are also used for thatch.