The emergence and closure of the Isthmus of Panama had regional and global impacts that were rivalled by few other Cenozoic geological events. The closure of the Central American Seaway and the rise of the Isthmus had dramatic affects on climate and air and oceanic currents worldwide. Formation of the Isthmus also drove terrestrial biotic interchange, ending the isolation of South America by permitting the mixing of its biota with that of North and Central America. A dated phylogenetic tree of a well-sampled clade of palms in the tribe Trachycarpeae (Copernicia, Pritchardia and Washingtonia) was used to conduct biogeographical analyses. Examination of the timing of lineage dispersal from North into South America was performed and two contrasting temporal hypotheses of the Isthmus formation were tested: occurrence in the Pliocene (c. 5 Mya to the present) or in the Miocene (prior to c. 5 Mya). Copernicia is inferred to have dispersed through the Isthmus of Panama region into South America and subsequently into the Caribbean, where it underwent a rapid radiation. Consistent with a geologically older age for the Isthmus than previously understood, our results support recent geological and palaeobiological data that suggest an early Oligocene to early Miocene model of evolution of the Isthmus of Panama.