Ceroxylon quindiuense (H.Karst.) H.Wendl.

Ceroxylon quindiuense, often called Quindío wax palm, is a palm native to the humid montane forests of the Andes in Colombia and Peru.

View of Cocora valley (Colombia) with Ceroxylon quindiuense palms

Description

This palm species can grow to a height of 45 m (148 ft) —or rarely, even as high as 60 m (200 ft). It is the tallest recorded monocot in the world. The trunk is cylindrical, smooth, light colored, covered with wax; leaf scars forming dark rings around the trunk. The leaves are dark green and grayish, 185–540 cm (6.1–17.7 ft) long, with a petiole up to 80 cm (31 in). Fruits are globose and orange-red when ripe, 1.6–2 cm (0.6–0.8 in) in diameter.

Taxonomy

Ceroxylon quindiuense was described by Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten and published in Bonplandia (Hannover) 8: 70. (1860).

Etymology:

Ceroxylon: generic name composed of the Greek words: kèròs = "wax" and xγlon = "wood", in reference to the thick white wax found on the trunks. quindiuense: geographical epithet alluding to its location in Quindío.

Synonymy:

• Klopstockia quindiuensis H.Karst
• Ceroxylon floccosum Burret

Ceroxylon quindiuense - Wikipedia

 

 

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