Thrinax morrisii H.Wendl.
Thrinax havanensis nom. nud.
Thrinax microcarpa Sarg.
Thrinax keyensis Sarg.
Thrinax ponceana O.F.Cook
Thrinax praeceps O.F.Cook
Thrinax bahamensis O.F.Cook
Thrinax drudei Becc.
Thrinax punctulata Becc.
Thrinax ekmanii Burret
Simpsonia microcarpa (Sarg.) O.F.Cook
Leucothrinax morrisii, the Key thatch palm,[4] is a small palm which is native to the Greater Antilles (except Jamaica), northern Lesser Antilles, The Bahamas and Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States.
Until 2008 it was known as Thrinax morrisii. It was split from the genus Thrinax after phylogenetic studies showed that its inclusion in Thrinax would render that genus paraphyletic. The generic name combines leuco (in reference to the whitish colour of its flowering stalks and the undersides of its leaves)[5] with thrinax.
Leucothrinax morrisii is known as the "Key thatch palm" or the "brittle thatch palm" in the United States.[6] In Anguilla it is called the "broom palm" or "buffalo-top", in The Bahamas, miraguano in Cuba and palma de escoba in Puerto Rico.[7] Other common names include "small-fruited thatch palm", yaray, pandereta, palma de petate, palma de cogollo, guano de sierra, and palmita.[6]
Leucothrinax morrisii is a palmate-leaved palm with solitary brown or grey stems[6] 1–11 metres (3–36 ft) tall and 5–35 centimetres (2–14 in) in diameter.[7] Leaves are pale blue-green or yellow-green,[6] whitish on the undersides.[5] Petioles are 27–84 cm (0.9–2.8 ft) long with split petioles. The leaflets are 33–75 cm (1.1–2.5 ft) long and 2.3–4.8 cm (1–2 in) wide. The inflorescences extend beyond the leaves and are 55–100 cm (1.8–3.3 ft) long. The fruit are white, and turn yellow as they mature.[6]
Leucothrinax morrisii is native to the Florida mainland and Keys, the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico,[3] Navassa Island,[8] Saint Barthélemy, both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.[7]