I'm really struggling keywording some tropical plants. Anybody have a good resource reference?

Such as the following two, anybody have a clue it's name + scientific?

Found them in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Thanks

Brasilnut

I usually just search for common plants in that specific area. Usually I can find pictures that match.

I haven't found one single website that has all the information. There are just too many kinds of plants and animals out there.

I have learned a lot from doing this research though. But it is time consuming...

There are very good groups on Facebook, for plants, insects, birds�

Those are hard to identify from a picture.  The first one looks like ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata), which is not a palm, weirdly enough.  The second of course is a palm but can't tell the genus from the picture.  You could probably look it up in The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms by Riffle, Craft and Zona.  It's a great book if you like palms.  I actually have a copy at home but am not going to spend the time to look it up - you should be able to find it in a library.  Palms with blue leaves are relatively uncommon so it shouldn't take too long to pin it down.

If you are in Minas Gerais then I would go to UFV in Vicosa and find someone who works on ornamentals or plant taxonomy.  I know a couple of professors there who could probably point you in the right direction if you go there often.  Good luck!