Coccothrinax argentea 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 Hispaniola

Hispaniola

Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...

. It is a medium sized palm (growing about 10 m tall. Leaves are dark green above and silvery below. Like other Coccothrinax species, C. argentea 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...

. Very young leaves are eaten as a vegetable. It is also used medicinally by traditional healers to treat uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids

A uterine fibroid is a benign tumor that originates from the smooth muscle layer and the accompanying connective tissue of the uterus.Fibroids are the most common benign tumors in...

 and hot flashes.

This species is frequently confused with Coccothrinax argentata

Coccothrinax argentata

Coccothrinax argentata is a palm which is native to Bahamas, south Florida southeast Mexico and San Andrés Island. It is a small , slow-growing fan palm with leaves that are dark blue-green above and silver-coloured below. Flowers are white and small on light orange branches. The fruits rae...

.

Common names include: Hispaniola silver thatch palm, Cana, Guano, Latanye marron, Latanye savanne, Broom palm, Hispaniolan silver palm, Silver thatch palm, Palmera plateada de La Hispaniola, Guanito, Guano de escoba.