New record of Leucothrinax morrisii (Arecaeae) for the Havanense district, Cuba

Abstract

Leucothrinax morrisii is a palm native to Western and Central Cuba, with a Caribbean distribution and the only representative of its genus. The presence of L. morrisii is documented in the Mouth of Puerto Escondido River, Santa Cruz del Norte, Mayabeque, belonging to the Havanense district. The discovery constitutes a new record of locality, municipality and phytogeographic district that updates the geographical distribution of the species for Cuba. The site is part of the Protected Area proposal “Reserva Florística Canasí-Puerto Escondido”, so it would be a new in situ conservation point in the country. To facilitate the future identification of L. morrisii, a dichotomous key was created with the diagnostic morphological characters that differentiate from the other genera of the Crysophileae tribe present in Cuba.