Panoramic of Cocora valley with wax palms

Ceroxylon quindiuense (Palma de cera del quindio, (Wax palm tree), is a palm native to the Andean high altitude valley of Cocora in the department of Quindío, northwest Colombia. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 572 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Comment: GRIN gives me three possible wax palms: . Ceroxylon alpinum Bonpl. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 572 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Comment: GRIN gives me three possible wax palms: . Ceroxylon alpinum Bonpl. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (600 × 800 pixels, file size: 109 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Cocora valley is a wildlife sanctuary in Colombia, located in the central andean mountains. ... Salento Salento (Salentu in dialect) is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Liliopsida is the botanical name for a class. ... Family Arecaceae Arecales is the botanical order which includes only the palm family, Arecaceae. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae or Palmae (also known by the name Palmaceae, which is taxonomically invalid. ... Ceroxylon is a genus of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten (1817 – 1908) was a German botanist and geologist. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae or Palmae (also known by the name Palmaceae, which is taxonomically invalid. ... The word Andean refers to the geographic area in and around the Andes Mountains of South America, and to the indigenous peoples that inhabit the area, such as the Inca. ... Cocora valley is a wildlife sanctuary in Colombia, located in the central andean mountains. ... Motto: Joven Rico y Poderoso Capital Armenia Governor Area 1,845 km² Population  - Total (2003)  - Density   613,375 332 people/km² Adjective quindiano Quindío is a department of Colombia. ...

Description

The wax palm grows up to 50 m (rarely to 60 m) tall in good growing conditions and is not only the tallest palm but the tallest monocot in the world. The leaves are dark green and grayish, with a petiole up to 2 m long. The trunk is cylindrical, smooth, light colored and covered with wax, When the leaves die they fall and this form a dark ring around the trunk. The palm is recognized as the national tree of Colombia) and since the implementation of the law 61 of 1985 is legally a protected species. Ceroxylon quindiuense has an extremely slow growth and can live up to a hundred years. It was observed by Alexander Von Humboldt, for the first time, in 1801.^[1] Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae Monocotyledons or monocots are a group of flowering plants usually ranked as a class and once called the Monocotyledoneae. ... Look up foliage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Leaf of Dog Rose (Rosa canina), showing the petiole and two leafy stipules In botany, the petiole is the small stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. ... candle wax This page is about the substance. ... An 1859 portrait of Alexander von Humboldt by the artist Julius Schrader, showing Mount Chimborazo in the background. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ...

Ecology

Wax palms provide a habitat for many unique life forms, often endangered species such as Loro Orejiamarillo (yellow-eared parrot) Ognorhynchus icterotis. It grows in groups over the hills of the western side of the andean mountains, between 2.500 - 2.800 meters over sea level, with a required temperature range 12-19º C, and an average of rain of 1800 mm/year, in sandy soils with high acidity. Systematics (but see below) Family Cacatuidae (cockatoos) Subfamily Microglossinae (Palm Cockatoo) Subfamily Calyptorhynchinae (dark cockatoos) Subfamily Cacatuinae (white cockatoos) Family Psittacidae (true parrots) Subfamily Loriinae (lories and lorikeets) Subfamily Psittacinae (typical parrots and allies) Tribe Arini (American psittacines) Tribe Cyclopsitticini (fig parrots) Tribe Micropsittini (pygmy parrots) Tribe Nestorini (kakas and... Binomial name Ognorhynchus icterotis (Massena & Souancé, 1854) The Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis), also known as the palm parrot, is an endangered parrot of tropical America. ...

Colombian postage stamp, featuring the wax palm

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Uses and extinction threat

The palm faced extinction due to human action. The wax of the trunk was used to make candles, until the introduction of electricity a few decades ago. The wood of the palm is unsuitable for the timber industry, but was used to build rudimentary water supplies for the poor peasants.^[2]The fruits were used as food for cattle and pigs. The leaves were extensively used in the Catholic celebrations of palm sunday.^[3] All of these circumstances produced a drastic reduction of the number of wax palms^[4], which motivated the Colombian government of Belisario Betancur to begin providing protection for the remaining trees. For other uses, see Candle (disambiguation). ... Electricity (from New Latin ēlectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ... Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill Timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for use—from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use—as structural material for construction or wood... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ... For other uses, see Pig (disambiguation). ... For the book by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

References and external links

• Bernal, M., Navas, A. & Madriñan, S. 2007. Developmental morphology and growth patterns of the wax palm Ceroxylon quindiuense.
• Henderson, A. 1995. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas.