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Ceroxylon quindiuense

 

 
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Ceroxylon quindiuense
 
 
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Ceroxylon quindiuense (Palma de cera del quindio, (Wax palm tree), is a palm
Arecaceae

Palm or Palmae or Panamea , the palm family, is a family of flowering plants belonging to the Monocotyledon order, Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known Genus with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropics, subtropics, and warm temperate climates....
 native to the Andean high altitude valley of Cocora in the department of Quindío, northwest Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.

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
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are dark green and grayish, with a petiole
Petiole (botany)

In botany, the petiole is the small stalk attaching the leaf blade to the Plant stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem....
 up to 2 m long.






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Ceroxylon quindiuense (Palma de cera del quindio, (Wax palm tree), is a palm
Arecaceae

Palm or Palmae or Panamea , the palm family, is a family of flowering plants belonging to the Monocotyledon order, Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known Genus with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropics, subtropics, and warm temperate climates....
 native to the Andean high altitude valley of Cocora in the department of Quindío, northwest Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.

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
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are dark green and grayish, with a petiole
Petiole (botany)

In botany, the petiole is the small stalk attaching the leaf blade to the Plant stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem....
 up to 2 m long. The trunk is cylindrical, smooth, light colored and covered with wax
Wax

Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by bees and used by them in constructing their honeycombs.It is an imprecisely defined term generally understood to be a substance with properties similar to beeswax, namely...
, 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
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
) 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
Alexander von Humboldt

was a German people natural scientist and List of explorers, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguistics, Wilhelm von Humboldt ....
, for the first time, in 1801.

Ecology

Wax palms provide a habitat for many unique life forms, often endangered species such as Loro Orejiamarillo (yellow-eared parrot
Parrot

File:Ara ararauna -eating -Wilhelma Zoo-8-2rc.jpgParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genus that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions....
) 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 12-19°C, and an average of rain of 1800 mm/year, in sandy soils with high acidity.

Uses and extinction threat

The palm faced extinction due to human action. The wax of the trunk was used to make candle
Candle

A candle is a source of light, and sometimes a source of heat, consisting of a solid block of fuel and an embedded candle wick.Today, most candles are made from paraffin....
s, until the introduction of electricity
Electricity

Electricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena such as lightning and static electricity, but in addition, less familiar concepts such as the electromagnetic field and electromagnetic induction....
 a few decades ago. The wood of the palm is unsuitable for the timber
Timber

Timber may refer to:* Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway...
 industry, but was used to build rudimentary water supplies for the poor peasants.The fruits were used as food for cattle
Cattle

Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domestication ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat , dairy products , leather and as draft animals ....
 and pig
Pig

Pigs, also called hogs or swine, are a genus of even-toed ungulates within the Family Suidae. The name pig, hog, or swine most commonly refers to the Domestic pig in everyday parlance, but technically encompasses several distinct species, including the Wild Boar....
s. The leaves were extensively used in the Catholic
Catholic

Catholic is an adjective derived from the Greek language adjective , meaning "whole" or "complete". In the context of Christianity ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages....
 celebrations of palm sunday
Palm Sunday

Image:Meister der Palastkapelle in Palermo 002.jpg|thumb|300px|'The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem' mosaic by the Master of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo .]]...
. All of these circumstances produced a drastic reduction of the number of wax palms, which motivated the Colombian government of Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur

Belisario Betancur Cuartas is a Colombian statesman, the President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986....
 to begin providing protection for the remaining trees.