Palms   Copernicia rigida

Common Names: Jata palm Conservation Status: Not threatened. Distribution & Habitat: C. rigida is a Cuban endemic that has a disjunct distribution. The typical gray form is from the savannasof Western/Central Cuba, but faraway populations occur in Eastern Cuba, in the mining areas of toxic metal soils between Moa and Baracoa. Description: An extremely distinctive and unusual, medium sized Copernicia, which has steep, wedge-shaped, circular leaves with sharp spikes that funnel into its center, giving it a very noticeable "shuttlecock" appearance. General: Some botanists are raising the possibility that C. rigida is carnivorous. It leaves form a very effective trap for small animals, which die and rot there, providing nutrients for the plant. This possibly evolved after the last ice-age, when C. rigida's habitat was a desert. Culture: Full sun in a moist, well drained position. Unbelievably slow growing.	Figure 1. C. rigida central-western Cuba form.
Figure 2. Young plant of C. rigida .

Contributed by:	Carlo Morici (Text)
	Rolf Kyburz, K-Palms (Figure 1)
	Ray, Tampa (Figure 2)

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