Difference between revisions of "Ceroxylon alpinum"

Staminate inflorescences: peduncle about 80 cm long, covered with pale brown floccose scales; peduncular bracts 7, the longest 75 × 11 cm, leathery, covered with deciduous indumentum, only persisting towards margins; rachis 80-90 cm long, with about 56 first order branches, each subtended by a 0.5-1.5 mm membranaceous acuminate bract; rachis and branches covered with thick layer of persistent, white to cream indumentum of floccose scales; longest branches near base 37 cm long. Pistillate inflorescences up to five in various stages of development; peduncle 1.0-1.7 m long, 2.6-3.0 cm wide at apex, covered with pale brown, floccose, deciduous scales; prophyll covered with thick, brownish to yellowish, floccose; peduncular bracts 6-7, 22-148 × 11 cm, and an additional bract smaller, more distally inserted, about 8 cm, all bracts leathery, covered with thick indumentum like that of the prophyll; rachis 84-123 cm, with 54-62 first order branches, all branches subtended by a 0.5-2.0 mm, membranaceous, acuminate bract; longest branches 38-72 cm; rachis and first order branches densely covered with white and ferrugineous, persistent membranaceous scales. Staminate flowers: sepals 3, triangular-acuminate, apex narrow, 1.0-1.5 mm, connate basally for 1/3-½ their length, not reaching or exceeding edge of corolla tube; petals 3, ovate-acuminate to subulate, 4-8 mm, basally connate for 0.4-1.5 mm, apex long-acuminate, acumen 1-2 mm; stamens 10-17 (-19), exserted, 3-6 (-9) antesepalous, and 3-9 (-10) antepetalous, filaments 1.0-2.5 mm, anthers basifixed, 4-7 mm, connective exceeding theca in length by 0.2-0.4 mm. Pistillate flowers: sepals 3, elliptical-acuminate, 1-2 mm long, connate for approx. ½ their length, reaching or exceeding edge of corolla tube; petals 3, elliptical-subulate, 4-5 mm long, basally connate for up to 1 mm, acumen narrow, 1 mm long; staminodes 12-16, 0.5 mm long, with thick filaments, abortive anthers 1.5-2.0 mm long. Fruits globose, orange-red when ripe, 1.6-2.0 cm. in diam., exocarp with raised lenticels appearing as scattered warts; perianth with triangular-acuminate sepals, 1.0-1.8 mm long, connate basally for 0.5-1.0 mm, lobes reaching edge of corolla tube, petals elliptical-subulate, 4-9 mm long, widened at base, acumen 1-3 mm long, connate basally for 0.7-1.0 mm. Seeds about 1 cm. in diam. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Ceroxylon alpinum is characterized by its regularly arranged, horizontal pinnae, inflorescence axes with reddish indumentum, staminate flowers with large and exserted anthers with a projected connective, and a warty fruit exocarp, with raised lenticels. C. alpinum subsp. ecuadorense described from the western Andes of Ecuador (Galeano 1995), is here included in C. echinulatum; see comments under that species. This decision is supported by phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data (Trénel et al. 2007b, 2008). The name Ceroxylon andicolum var. occidentale was published by Fawcett based on a description sent to him from Colombia by Robert B. White. The description was accompanied by a few seeds but apparently no specimen was ever made. White cited a locality "60 miles South of Cali, in the Valley of Cajamarca"; this locality is actually 114 km north of Cali, near the town of El Dovio, where the neotype was collected. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb.

Two subspecies are recognised. Notes for Ecuador. The subspecies that occurs in Ecuador, subsp. ecuadorense Galeano, is endemic to that country.

Conservation: The vast majority of the montane forest within the range of this species has been destroyed or fragmented by coffee plantations or pastures. According to the IUCN criteria (Version 3.1) this species is Endangered (EN) in Venezuela (Llamosas et al. 2003), as well as in Colombia. In the latter country it is estimated that natural populations have been reduced more than 80% in the last 210 years (Galeano & Bernal 2005). Moreover, in one of the best conserved populations genetic erosion has been detected in seedlings (Gaitán-Solís 2003). A demographic study revealed that the maximum age of palm individuals growing under natural conditions is 160 years and up to 213 years in one particular case (Vergara-Chaparro 2002). On average they developed an aerial stem at the approximate age of 57 years and started flowering when they were approximately 83 years old. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb.

Uses: The young leaves have traditionally been used in religious processions on Palm Sunday, a practice that has been abandoned by law in Colombia. The stems are used as fencing around houses and farms, and to build walls. The fruits are consumed by pigs. (Maria Jose Sanin and Gloria Galeano. 2011)/Palmweb.