Ceroxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Andes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, known as Andean wax palms.[1][2][3]

Andean wax palms
Ceroxylon quindiuense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Ceroxyloideae
Tribe: Ceroxyleae
Genus: Ceroxylon
Bonpl. ex DC.
Type species
Ceroxylon alpinum
Synonyms[1]
  • Klopstockia H.Karst.
  • Beethovenia Engel

The species are almost exclusively montane and include the tallest palm (and thus tallest monocotyledon), C. quindiuense, which reaches 61 m (200 ft) in height, and species growing at the highest altitude of the palm family (Arecaceae), at more than 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in elevation.

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek κηρός (kērós ("wax") and ξύλον (xúlon, "wood").

Description

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Ceroxylon palms develop single, smooth, wax-covered, often whitish cylindrical trunks encircled by ringed leafbase scars. Ceroxylon species are dioecious (the individual plant produces flowers of only one sex). Leaves are pinnate. Inflorescences emerge from among, and often project conspicuously beyond the leaves. Round fruits, up to one inch in diameter, are red or orange at maturity. Many Ceroxylon species are endangered by habitat destruction.

Two species of Andean wax palms, C. quindiuense and C. alpinum, provide nesting sites and food for a species of Colombian parrot now in danger of extinction, Ognorhynchus icterotis.

Uses

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In Colombia, Ceroxylon palms are frequently harvested for their wood. Ceroxylon palm leaves are also used in Palm Sunday ceremonies.[4]

Cultivation

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Several Ceroxylon species, including C. quindiuense, C. alpinum, C. vogelianum, C. ventricosum, and C. parvifrons, are cultivated as ornamental trees outside their native range in cool, humid, mild climates with minimal frosts, such as parts of Australia, coastal California, Hawai'i, New Zealand, South Africa, and coastal Western Europe. The Jose Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden in Bogotá, Colombia, contains an extensive planting of Ceroxylon palms. Other public gardens where cultivated Ceroxylon spp. can be viewed include the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, the Huntington Botanical Gardens, in Pasadena (near Los Angeles), California, and the Oakland Palmetum at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, California.

Species

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The genus contains the following species:[3]

Image Scientific name Distribution
  Ceroxylon alpinum Bonpl. ex DC. Colombia, Venezuela
Ceroxylon amazonicum Galeano Ecuador
  Ceroxylon ceriferum (H.Karst.) Pittier Colombia, Venezuela
  Ceroxylon echinulatum Galeano Ecuador, Peru
  Ceroxylon parvifrons (Engel) H.Wendl. Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
Ceroxylon parvum Galeano Ecuador
Ceroxylon peruvianum Galeano, Sanín & K.Mejia Peru
Ceroxylon pityrophyllum (Mart.) Mart. ex H.Wendl. Peru, Bolivia
  Ceroxylon quindiuense (H.Karst.) H.Wendl. Colombia
  Ceroxylon sasaimae Galeano Antioquia, Cundinamarca
  Ceroxylon ventricosum Burret Colombia, Ecuador
  Ceroxylon vogelianum (Engel) H.Wendl. Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru

References

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  1. ^ a b "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  2. ^ Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. ^ a b Sanin, Maria Jose; Galeano, Gloria (2011). "A revision of the Andean wax palms, Ceroxylon (Arecaceae)" (PDF). Phytotaxa. 34 (34): 1–64. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.34.1.1. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. ^ Brokamp, Grischa (2015). Relevance and Sustainability of Wild Plant Collection in NW South America: Insights from the Plant Families Arecaceae and Krameriaceae. Wiesbaden: Springer Spektrum. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-08696-1. ISBN 978-3-658-08695-4. S2CID 30557398.
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