Copernicia campestris Trithrinax campestris, the caranday palm, is a South American palm tree native of Uruguayan and northeastern Argentine sabanas, where it shares its habitat with Copernicia alba among others and extends also to the summits of mountain ranges of Sierras de Córdoba and Sierras de San Luis.

Its distinctive features are its compact shape, short green to grayish foliage, and trunk fully hidden by dry dead leaf bases (coat) remaining from several previous seasons.

Trithrinax campestris is a monocot flowering palm of relative low height (up to 6 m tall) and 20–25 cm wide stems usually covered by fibrous-spiny remains of earlier foliage which acts as a thick protective coat.

These palms are naturally found in groups, formations of several individuals, or composing large caranday forests where they present strong dominance.

Its main environmental threat is deforestation or natural fire, as caranday's thick dry stem coats are highly flammable.