Coccothrinax proctorii, the Cayman thatch palm or Proctor's silver palm,[1] is a palm which is endemic to the Cayman Islands.[2]
Henderson and colleagues (1995) considered C. proctorii to be a synonym of Coccothrinax argentata.[3]
A medium-sized palm, with a slender trunk, and an open crown, of deeply divided leaves, with nearly perfectly symmetrical divisions, dark green above, and silvery white below. The trunk type is solitary.
It prefers a sunny, moist, but well-drained position. It is salt tolerant, and prefers an alkaline soil with a position in full sun, or light shade, in a tropical or subtropical climate, and once established, can endure quite a bit of coastal exposure. While slow growing, it can be grown on just coral limerock. Indoors it also makes a neat bonsai, that can even be cultivated just on a piece of coral limerock, practically without soil.[4]
It is considered Endangered by the IUCN Red List, having declined to about 435,699 mature individuals in 2000 from a projected original population of 600,000. This population has still continued declining, and the projected 2013 population is around 428,500 mature individuals. In a century, the population will have likely declined to only about 123,500 individuals, all restricted to protected areas.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
.. Henderson . Andrew . Andrew Henderson (botanist). Galeano . Gloria . Gloria Galeano . Bernal . Rodrigo . Rodrigo Bernal. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas . 1995 . Princeton University Press . Princeton, New Jersey. 0-691-08537-4 .