Thatch palm
Encyclopedia
The name Thatch palm is applied to several different species of palm tree
s in the genera Coccothrinax
, Howea
and Thrinax
. The name comes from the use of these trees for roof thatching
.
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...
s in the genera Coccothrinax
Coccothrinax
Coccothrinax is a genus of palms in the Arecaceae family. There are more than 50 species described in the genus, plus many synonyms and sub-species. A new species has been described as recently as 2006. Many of the Coccothrinax have silver or thatch, or both, in their English common names...
, Howea
Howea
Howea is a genus of two palms, H. belmoreana and H. forsteriana, both endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia. H. forsteriana in particular is commonly grown as an indoor plant in the Northern Hemisphere, and the two species form the mainstay of the island's palm seed industry and more importantly...
and Thrinax
Thrinax
Thrinax is a genus in the palm family, native to the wider Caribbean. It is closely related to the genera Coccothrinax, Hemithrinax and Zombia. Flowers are small and bisexual, and are borne on small stalks....
. The name comes from the use of these trees for roof thatching
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
.