Ceroxylon Bonpl. ex D.C. Original reference: Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 3: 239 (1804) Morphology: Medium sized to large, dioecious palms. Stem solitary, tall, smooth, often white and with black leaf scars, frequently thickened in the middle. Leaves pinnate, regularly divided; pinnae regularly inserted in one plane and then sometimes pendulous, OR grouped and spreading in different planes and then sometimes bending in the middle, below silverish or with a thick waxy tomentum. Inflorescence interfoliar, elongate, branched 2-4 times, with one prophyll and several persistent, peduncular bracts. Flowers pedicellate, borne singly, with 3 free sepals and 3 free petals, which in male flowers are open from an early stage in the development; male flowers with 6-12 stamens and a small pistillode; female flowers with 6 staminodes and a style borne basally between one large and two reduced carpels. Fruit small, round, smooth or finely warted, green, usually turning red at maturity. Distribution and diversity: Ceroxylon is the only genus in the Neotropics that has an entirely montane distribution. It includes some 15 species in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia, found mainly at 1500-2500 m altitude. Seven species have been recorded in Ecuador; one of these (C. amazonicum) is unique in that it ocurrs at only 900-1100 m elevation. Notes: The genus belongs to a biogeographically interesting group of four genera scattered over the southern hemisphere, with representatives in Madagascar, the Comores Islands, Australia, Juan Fernandez Islands, and the Andes. Synonym list (2)

Habit of male flowering palm of Ceroxylon alpinum subsp. ecuadorense on the western slopes of the Andes in Ecuador Photo: AAU palm archive Palms of Ecuador Home Ceroxylon alpinum Ceroxylon amazonicum Ceroxylon echinulatum Ceroxylon parvifrons Ceroxylon parvum Ceroxylon ventricosum Ceroxylon vogelianum