This slender Caribbean palm is the Tyre Palm, Coccothrinax alta.

It has a narrow trunk topped by a rounded crown of fan-shaped leaves. The upper surface of each leaf is green, while the underside is pale silver, creating a bright flashing effect when the leaves move in the wind.

The trunk may remain covered for many years by a woven layer of old leaf-base fibers. These tough fibers were traditionally used for making rope, brushes, baskets, and other practical items.

Small cream-colored flowers appear on branching stalks among the leaves. They are followed by round fruits that ripen from green to dark purple or nearly black. Birds eat the fruits and help disperse the seeds.

Tyre Palm is native to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, making it one of our own regional palms rather than an introduced ornamental.

It is well adapted to Caribbean conditions, including intense sunlight, seasonal drought, limestone soils, wind, and salt carried from the coast.

Its slim trunk and silver-backed leaves may appear delicate, but the Tyre Palm is a tough native species shaped by the dry, exposed landscapes of these islands.