Ceroxylon

Andean wax palms
Ceroxylon quindiuense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Ceroxyloideae
Tribe: Ceroxyleae
Genus: Ceroxylon
Bonpl. ex DC.
Type species
Ceroxylon alpinum
Synonyms[1]
  • Klopstockia H.Karst.
  • Beethovenia Engel

Ceroxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae, native to the Andes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, known as Andean wax palms.[1][2][3]

The species are almost exclusively montane and include the tallest palm (and thus tallest monocotyledon), C. quindiuense, which reaches 61 m (200 ft) in height, and species growing at the highest altitude of the palm family (Arecaceae), at more than 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in elevation.

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek κηρός (kērós ("wax") and ξύλον (xúlon, "wood").

  1. ^ a b "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  2. ^ Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. ^ Sanin, Maria Jose; Galeano, Gloria (2011). "A revision of the Andean wax palms, Ceroxylon (Arecaceae)" (PDF). Phytotaxa. 34 (34): 1–64. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.34.1.1. Retrieved 18 January 2016.