About Coccothrinax barbadensis (Lodd. ex Mart.) Becc.
Coccothrinax barbadensis, commonly known as latanier or latanier balai, is a fan palm species belonging to the genus Coccothrinax. It is native to Venezuela (including the Venezuelan Antilles), Trinidad and Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles, with confirmed native occurrences on Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, Martinique, and Saint Lucia. Henderson and his coauthors note that this species was likely originally found across the entire Lesser Antilles, but has been extirpated from many of the islands in the region. The leaves of Coccothrinax barbadensis are widely used for thatching roofs. In 2005, George Proctor (published in Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong, 2005) classified Coccothrinax alta as a separate distinct species, distinguishing it by its shorter, more slender trunk, fewer stamens, and much smaller fruit. Rafaël Govaerts, however, treats Coccothrinax alta as a synonym of Coccothrinax barbadensis.
