Ceroxylon quindiuense

Quindio wax palm - ( Ceroxylon quindiuense )

The Quindio wax palm - ( Ceroxylon quindiuense ), formerly referred to as Quindiu - wax palm, is a species of the palm family ( Arecaceae ). It was discovered in 1801 by Alexander von Humboldt and is native to Colombia. It is considered the highest palm in the world. Since 1985, the Quindio wax palm, Colombia's national tree of.

Features

The stems reach stature heights of 15 to 50 meters (rarely 60 meters ) and a diameter of 20 to 40 centimeters. The Quindio wax palm, has a very slow growth and can be several hundred years old. The mature palms are characterized by a thick layer of wax on the bark. The crown is almost round. There are 18 to 30 4.5 to 5.5 meters long, upward -growing palm fronds available. The palm fronds are composed of 70 to 110 regularly arranged, drooping, dark green on the top and covered at the bottom with a thick, woolly, whitish or yellowish downy feathery leaves, which can be 60 inches long.

The smooth, spherical, orange-red to bright red fruits have a diameter from 1.7 to 1.9 centimeters.

Occurrence

The Quindio wax palm comes to the eastern and western slopes of the Central Andes in the administrative regions of Antioquia, Quindio, Risaralda and Tolima, on the slopes of the western Andes in the province of Valle del Cauca and on the slopes of the eastern Andes in the provinces of Cundinamarca, Norte de Santander and Putumayo ago. The habitat is montane rain forests at altitudes between 2000 to 3000 meters.

Use

The young palm leaves are used for Palm Sunday processions. Garden fences and house walls are made from the wood. In the 19th century, candles were made from the recovered wax.

Ecology

The Quindio wax palm provides habitat and food for several wildlife species. The rare Yellow-eared parrot preferred this species as nesting tree. The hearts of palm are part of the food supply of the spectacled bear and the ripe fruits serve as food for the Grünhäher, the Giants and the throttle toucanet.

Endangering

The Quindio wax palm, is classified by the IUCN in the category at risk ( vulnerable ). This type is under a tremendous pressure of the expanding agriculture and animal husbandry in the Colombian Andes. The cattle eat the seedlings, so that hardly any young trees can grow. The fronds are excessively collected for religious festivals. Because of the use of wood many old trees are cut down despite legal protection. The Quindio wax palm - leaves in the cultivation and breeding is shown in parks in Bogotá and Quito.