Ceroxylon amazonicum
| Ceroxylon (seh-ROKS-ih-lon) amazonicum (ahm-ah-zohn-EE-kuhm) | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Ecuador. Only known from the southeastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes (Morona-Santiago and
Description
Stem 8-12 (-20) m tall, 12-25 cm in diam., internodes covered with thin layer of wax, whitish to greyish. Leaves (14-) 19-22, in dense, hemispheric crown; sheath 104 cm long, covered with thick, light brown indumentum; petiole 10-15 cm long, 3.5-7.5 cm wide apically, adaxial surface flat and slightly elevated at center, glabrescent, abaxially covered with thick layer of persistent, brownish scales, with a stout, elongated, hammer-shaped base and a fibrous limb that projects upwards; rachis 203-290 cm long, twisted 90° on distal portion thereby holding the pinnae in a vertical position, adaxially flattened in about ½ of its length and ending in a well-defined 2 mm hastula-like projection, glabrescent with remnants of scales near the margins, abaxially convex, covered with oblong, adpressed, white, membranaceous scales; pinnae 83-106 on each side, regularly arranged in one plane, horizontal and straight to pendulous in the basal part of the leaf and straight toward the apex, abaxial surface and midrib covered with yellowish scales, with age falling to reveal the surface in some areas; the most basal filiform pinnae 37-51 × 0.2-0.6 cm, basal pinnae (10th from base and below) 59-60 × 1.2-1.8 cm, middle pinnae 50.0-83.5 × 4.2-5.0 cm, apical pinnae 24-42 × 1.5-2.0 cm, sometimes the apical pinnae united along the margins.
Staminate inflorescences 5-7 at a time; peduncle 67 cm long, 2.5 cm wide at apex, glabrescent; prophyll 41 cm long, 6 cm wide at base; peduncular bracts 5-6, up to 160 cm long, 5-8 cm wide, with an additional smaller bract inserted near the base of the peduncle, prophyll and peduncular bracts covered by thick indumentum of light brown, fibrous scales; rachis 77-103 cm long, with 97-98 branches, each subtended by a 0.5-2.0 cm long, membranaceous, acuminate bract, rachis and branches glabrescent, longest branches 50 cm.| read more |
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Female inflorescences 6-7 at a time; peduncle 124 cm long, 2.7 cm wide at apex; prophyll 45 cm long, 10-11 cm wide at base; peduncular bracts 5, to 153 cm long, an additional, 5 cm bract inserted 5 cm below rachis base; rachis 120 cm long, with ca. 92 branches, longest branches 59 cm; prophyll, peduncle, bracts and base of rachis covered with persistent, light brown to yellowish indumentum, rachillae glabrous. Staminate flowers: sepals 3, broadly triangular, 1.0-1.5 mm long, connate in 0.1 mm (about 1/10 of total length), exceeding total length of the corolla tube; petals 3, elliptical to long acuminate, 5-7 mm long, connate in 1.0-1.5 mm; stamens 9-12 (-13), 3-6 episepalous, and 6-7 epipetalous, filaments 1.0-1.5 mm long, anthers 2.0-3.5 mm long, anther connective not projected. Pistillate flowers: sepals 3, broadly triangular-acuminate, 1.0-1.5 mm long, connate for 0.6-1.0 mm (1/2-2/3 of the total length), not reaching edge of corolla tube; petals 3, elliptical-acuminate, 5.0-6.5 mm long, connate up to 1.2 mm, acumen narrow, 1.0-1.5 mm long; staminodes 12, 1 antesepalous, 2?3 antepetalous, filaments 1 mm long, abortive anthers 0.9-1.2 mm long; pistil green, trifid, 2-3 mm in diam. Fruits globose, orange-red when ripe, 1.7-2.0 cm in diam., exocarp smooth. Seeds 1.3-1.5 cm in diam. (John Dransfield in Phytotaxa 34 (2011))/Palmweb. Editing by edric. Ceroxylon amazonicum is diagnosed by its dense crown and leaves with regularly inserted and horizontal pinnae, staminate flowers with 9-12 (-13) stamens, and smooth fruits. It is also the species that grows at lowest elevation. (John Dransfield in Phytotaxa 34 (2011))/Palmweb. |
Culture
Cold Hardiness Zone: 9b
Comments and Curiosities
Uses: The palm heart is edible.
Conservation: IUCN Redlist 2003: Endangered. A palm endemic to the southeastern Andean slopes of Ecuador, where four sub-populations have been reported: 3 km along the Macas-Sucúa road; 11 km east of Zumbi on the road to Paquisha, in the Río Nangaritza watershed; in the vicinity of Miazi; and in the Parque Nacional Sangay, close to Dormono, Macas. Could also occur in the Parque Nacional Podocapus. Considered Endangered due to the rapid deforestation of the area in recent years.
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Ceroxylon have a reputation of requiring constant cool temperatures to fare well. While this is indeed true for some of the high altitude species, there are some that will tolerate moderate heat, and in fact one obscure and very rare species from the Amazonian foothills of the Andes in Ecuador, Ceroxylon amazonicum, that, surprisingly, thrives even under tropical conditions. While in the upper reaches of its habitat it grows in cloud and rainforest around 2000 m (6500 ft.) a.s.l. with species such as Wettinia, Ceroxylon echinulatum and Geonoma, it also descends down into the steamy tropical lowland forests as low as 800 m (2600 ft.), where palms such as Mauritia flexuosa, Syagrus sancona and Oenocarpus bataua are seen close by. While its distribution and altitudinal range is actually much greater than previously recorded and covers many mountain ranges in southeastern Ecuador, it still is seriously threathend by deforestation for agriculture. It is arguably the most attractive of the Ceroxylon, forming a smooth, slender, tall trunk that carries a dense, rounded crown of flat, spreading leaves, dark green above and intensely silvery below. (RPS.com) "This is a single trunk species of pinnate palm from South America on the slopes of the Andes Mountains. It is a type of Wax Palm and known for it's cold tolerance and thin trunk for its size. This species is one of the most heat tolerant of Ceroxylon. Prefers shade or filtered light and moist soil. This palm is pretty rare in Southern California and has not been proven yet. Only small sizes are often found." (Geoff Stein) |
- IMAGE GALLERY
Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com
Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com
Photo-Rare Palm Seeds.com
Calicanto Valencia Spain. Photo by Burgal.
Calicanto Valencia Spain. Photo by Burgal.
Calicanto Valencia Spain. Photo by Burgal.
Northwest Portugal. Photo by sergiopalms-Portugal.
Mt. Warning Caldera, Nth. NSW, Australia. Photo by Pete
External Links
- Glossary of Palm Terms
- MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
- "Just To Be Clear"
- http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/34569-ceroxylon-amazonicum/
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).
John Dransfield in Phytotaxa 34 (2011)
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.
