Ceroxylon parvifrons
| Ceroxylon (seh-ROKS-ih-lon) parvifrons (pahr-VEE-frohns) | |||||||
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 Darold's tree. Photo by Jason Dewees, edric. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Ceroxylon parvifrons is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. In the Andes. Widely distributed throughout the Andes from Venezuela (Mérida, Táchira) and Colombia to Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, in wet montane forest, at 2100-3150 (-3500) m, usually found above 2600 m. Sometimes it forms populations of several individuals. Among the species of Ceroxylon and all palms it grows at the highest elevations in the world, up to 3500 m in Ecuador. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb.
Description
Stem solitary, to 15 m tall, 15-35 cm in diameter, grey to white with dark leaf scars. Leaves 2-3.5 m long; pinnae 70-85 on each side, regularly inserted in one plane, stiff, horizontal, the central ones to 50 cm long and 4-5 cm wide, below with a light brown to white, waxy indument. Inflorescences curved to pendulous, to 2 m long, branched 2-3 times. Fruits globose to oblong, 15-25 mm in diameter, smooth, orange-red. (Borchsenius, F. 1998)/Palmweb.
Stem 4-12 (-17) m tall, (6-) 10-30 (-35) cm in diameter, usually cylindrical, less frequently very thick at the base and thinner toward the apex, greyish, brown-grayish or brown, covered with a very thin layer of wax. Leaves (8-) 12-15 (-17) in the crown, erect, arched, in a hemispheric or funnel-shaped crown; sheath 45-90 (-104) cm long, covered with thick indumentum of intermixed, membranous, whitish to light-brown, more or less deciduous scales; petiole (13-) 21-69 (-90) cm long, (1.8-) 2.5-6.0 cm wide at base, adaxially glabrescent, with ferrugineous, linear, translucent, very long (2-9 mm) scales, surface covered with brown, stiff, scales; rachis (80-) 100-180 (-270) cm long, notoriously arched, adaxially flattened in ¼-½ of its length, ending in a well-defined, 0.1-2.0 mm hastula-like projection, distal portion of adaxial surface of rachis covered with white, deciduous scales, and abaxial surface covered with deciduous brown, thin, scales; pinnae (34-) 49-84 (-96) on each side of rachis, regularly and very closely inserted, arranged in one plane, erect, firm, leathery, plicate, apex inequilateral by 0.5?3.0 cm, adaxially dark green, smooth with the midrib prominent, covered with floccose, deciduous, scales and persistent scale bases, abaxial midrib covered with linear, translucent, brownish scales, surface covered with thick brown-ferugineous, or rarely yellowish scales; the basal filiform pinnae (14-) 21-61 × 0.2-1.0 cm, basal pinnae (10th from base) (26-) 37-86 × 1.0-1.6 (-2.4) cm, middle pinnae (31-) 46-94 × (1.5) 3.5-5.5 cm, 1.5-3.5 cm appart, apical pinnae (10-) 22-33 × 0.8-1.2 cm, usually free, usually free, rarely the apical 5-7 pinnae united along the margins. Staminate inflorescences with peduncle 84-100 cm long, covered with scale base scars or scarce fibres of degraded limb scales; prophyll 35 cm long; peduncular bracts 4-6, 40-114 cm long, covered with very thin indumentum of translucent, fragile scales; rachis 28-37 cm long, with 39-56 branches, each subtended by a membranaceous, acuminate bract; rachis and branches glabrescent; longest branches 13-25 cm long. Pistillate inflorescences 2-5 at one time; peduncle (72-) 106-248 cm long, (1.0-) 1.5-3.5 cm wide at apex, covered with ferrugineous, persistent, brownish indumentum; prophyll (18-) 30-53 cm long, 5-15 cm wide at base; peduncular bracts 4-6, 29-285 cm long, and sometimes an additional, smaller, more distally inserted, 11 cm bract, all bracts covered with floccose, very thin and fragile, brown indumentum; rachis 29-97 cm long, with 34-58 branches, each subtended by a 0.5-2.0 mm long, membranous, acuminate bract; longest branches (12-) 28-60 cm long; rachis and branches glabrescent. Staminate flowers: sepals 3, ovate-acuminate, 1.0-1.5 mm, connate in 0.4 mm (1/3-½ of total length), not reaching total length of corolla tube; petals 3, ovate-acuminate, 4-6 mm, including an acumen of 1.5 mm, connate in 1.5-2.0 mm, apex very long-acuminate; stamens (6-) 8-11, 3-5 antisepalous stamens, and 3-6 antipetalous stamens, filaments 1.5-2.0 mm, inserted at basal 2/5-3/5 portion of anther, anthers 2-3 mm, anther connective not projected. Pistillate flowers: sepals 3, triangular-acuminate, 1.0-1.2 mm, connate in 0.8-1.0 mm (½-2/3 of total length), not reaching corolla tube; petals 3, ovate-acuminate, 3.5-5.0 mm, including an acumen of 1.3-1.5 mm, connate up to 1 mm; staminodes 6-11, with very thick filaments of 1.5-2.0 mm, abortive anthers 1.0-1.5 mm; pistil trifid, 2-3 mm in diam. Fruits globose, orange-red when ripe, 1.3-2.2 (-2.5) cm in diam., exocarp smooth; fruiting perianth with sepals triangular-acuminate, 1.0-1.5 mm long, connate in 0.3-1.0, lobes not reaching or reaching the corolla tube; petals ovate-acuminate, 2.5-4.5 mm long, including an acumen of 1.0-1.5 mm long, widened at base, connate in 0.3-1.0 mm. Seeds 1-2 cm in diam. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb./Palmweb. Editing by edric.
The Southern Ecuadorian plants of C. parvifrons are larger than usual for the species. (Borchsenius, F. 1998)/Palmweb.
This species is surprisingly constant in its morphology. It is easily recognized from a distance by its markedly arched leaves with ascending pinnae, resulting in a obovoid to fountain-shaped crown, its very stiff pinnae, and its smooth and large fruits (up to 2.5 cm). In spite of this morphological stability there are populations with stouter individuals, both in Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe, Loja) and in Colombia (Quindío, Huila, Tolima), but apparently this trait is not correlated with special ecological factors. Some individuals may also be smaller than usual, with slender stems and smaller leaves, but this reduction in size is apparently associated with very exposed, windy habitats on mountain ridges. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb.
Culture
"My plant of C. parvifrons was never in a pot after germination. After the eophyll was fully expanded I ground planted the seedling beneath a Chamaedorea microspadix in March of 1991. The establishment phase was quite slow, with no above ground trunk for the first 12 years. In the past 6 years it has grown 3.72 m (12' 2") of true trunk with a diameter of 17 cm (6.75"). It holds 9-11 good leaves, has flowered twice, and is a male plant. Note that the trunk below the leafbases is more green. The characteristic white wax is a response to sunlight and develops after exposure. My plant is also more white on the sunny side relative to the shady side! (Darold Petty), "Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan), edric.
Comments and Curiosities
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Conservation: In Venezuela, C. parvifrons has been categorized as Endangered according to the IUCN criteria, mainly due to habitat destruction caused by deforestation practices for agricutural purposes (Llamosas et al. 2003). In Colombia it was categorized as Nearly Threatened (NT; Galeano & Bernal 2005) because, although it is a species that is widely distributed along the country - therefore not fitting into a threat category, deforestation processes in the Andes are so vast that populations are expected to have been severely diminished. It is strongly emphasized that complete, and updated information on the conservation status of this species is necessary. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb. Uses: The young leaves are traditionally cut to be used on Palm Sunday during Easter. In Ecuador, the wax from the stem was used for making candles. Growing to one of the highest elevations for any palm, to 3200m/10500ft, it is the hardiest species in the genus and a most distinctive and beautiful one with its erect, slightly arching leaves with a very regular outline, looking as though they had been trimmed with scissors, and stiff, upward pointing leaflets. The undersides of the leaves usually carry a thick golden tomentum. It is definitely our favourite species within the genus simply because of its stunning appearance. The name 'Ceroxylon utile' has frequently been applied to plants of this species growing at high altitudes in Colombia. C. utile has been reported to grow to altitudes of just over 4000m/13000ft in the Andes near Volcan Chiles, located on the border between Colombia and Ecuador. Despite a thorough search of the area, we found no evidence of any palm growing at this altitude among the millions (literally), of the strange Espeletia at home here. On descending, the first palms we encountered were C. parvifrons at about 3000m/9800ft. We believe C. utile to be identical with C. parvifrons and the altitude of 4000m/13000ft an error. Throughout the Andes, the young leaves - and sometimes, to reach them, entire trees - are cut for the decoration of churches on Palm Sunday, making this palm increasingly rare in its native habitat. C. parvifrons is practically unknown in cultivation outside Ecuador and Colombia. (RPS.com) |
External Links
- Glossary of Palm Terms
- MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
- "Just To Be Clear"
- Darold Petty collection. Video by Troy Donovan.
- Highland Palms
- http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?pid=S1727-99332008000000007&script=sci_arttext
References
Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.
Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.
Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.
Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).
Borchsenius, F. 1998. Manual to the palms of Ecuador. AAU Reports 37. Department of Systematic Botany, University of Aarhus, Denmark in collaboration with Pontificia Universidad Catalica del Ecuador.
Maria Jose Sanin & Gloria Geleano in Phytotaxa 34 (2011). 2011. A revision of the Andean wax palms, Ceroxylon (Arecaceae).
- IMAGE GALLERY
Putumayo, Colombia. Photo by Dr. Rodrigo Bernal/Palmweb.
Darold's tree. Photo by Jason Dewees, edric.
Darold's tree. Photo by Darold Petty, edric.
Darold's tree. Photo by Darold Petty, edric.
Darold's tree. Photo by Darold Petty, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
An older photo of Darold's tree. Photo by Kyle Wycomb, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
"Darold has great drainage with his deep sandy soil and is situated in the Sunset area of San Francisco where foggy and overcast conditions persist for weeks in Summer with temperatures in nmidsummer sometimes not exceeding 60 F ( 16 c )." (Troy Donovan). Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
Old Beach ,Tasmania ,Australia. Photo by Troy Donovan, edric.
Darold Petty Garden. Photo by Jason Dewees, edric.
Photo-The European Palm Society, edric.
Peru, 2012. Photo by Ceja Andina, edric.
Peru, 2012. Photo by Ceja Andina, edric.
Rare Palm Seeds.com
Rare Palm Seeds.com
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Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.
