Ceroxylon

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Arecales

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Ceroxyloideae
Tribus: Ceroxyleae
Genus: Ceroxylon
Species: C. alpinum – C. amazonicum – C. ceriferum – C. echinulatum – C. parvifrons – C. parvum – C. peruvianum – C. pityrophyllum – C. quindiuense – C. sasaimae – C. ventricosum – C. vogelianum
Source(s) of checklist:
Name

Ceroxylon Bonpl. ex DC., 1804

Type Species: Ceroxylon alpinum Bonpl. ex DC.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Klopstockia H.Karst., Linnaea 28: 251 (1856).
Beethovenia Engel, Linnaea 33: 677 (1865).

References

Bonpland, A.J.A., 1804. Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 3: 239

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Ceroxylon in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 13. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Ceroxylon. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 13 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Ceroxylon in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 13.
Tropicos.org 2018. Ceroxylon. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 13.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Ceroxylon in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

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]

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 Latin cēra ("wax") and Ancient Greek ξύλον (xúlon, "wood").

Description

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

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

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

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

"World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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.
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.