Copernicia alba - Caranda Palm

Copernicia alba, also known as the Caranday, is an imposing palm tree emblematic of the savannas of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay, a habitat it shares with the Tithrinax campestris. It is not very hardy, and can only be grown in open ground on the Mediterranean or southern Atlantic coast. It is characterized by a fairly narrow, greyish trunk adorned with a decorative pattern and topped with a beautiful bouquet of large fan-shaped leaves, slightly greyish-green and shiny. It owes its other name, Wax Palm, to the waxy substance that covers its leaves, which was once harvested by the indigenous people to make candles. It is a sun and heat-loving plant, accustomed to climates governed by the monsoon, alternating between a long period of drought and flooded soils.

Copernicia alba belongs to the palm family. Its trunk, called a stipe, is solitary and covered with growths that are the remnants of old petioles. They form a decorative honeycomb pattern on older subjects. The wood is resistant and dense, used locally for making poles. Its growth is quite fast in warm soils that remain moist. In nature or in open ground, it can reach 20 m (65 ft 7 in) in height with a spread of 7 m, and a stipe diameter of at least 40 cm (15.7 in). At the top of this stipe, a crown composed of large leaves called fronds develops, with the leaves being divided into a large number of green-grey, glossy segments, sometimes trailing at their tips. On mature subjects, the leaves are borne by a long petiole equipped with hard, curved, and quite formidable black spines. Young plants have linear leaves. Flowering only occurs on mature subjects in the form of yellow spadix inflorescences reaching 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length. The root system of this palm is highly developed, but its roots are brittle and fragile.

Copernicia alba is a majestic plant that can be placed in isolation or in a row in a large garden. It can also be grown in large containers that can be placed on the terrace during the summer and stored in a cold greenhouse in winter. It requires space to express all its beauty and grows quickly if it does not lack warmth or nutrients. Like all palm trees, it can sometimes be difficult to associate with other plants due to its strong personality: reserve a corner of a pool for it and plant architectural plants such as Beschorneria, excellent in partial shade, or Phormium, sober, and colourful, or even agaves, precise and geometric.