Ceroxylon
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. The species are almost exclusively montane and include the tallest palm (and thus tallest monocotyledon), "C. quindiuense", which reaches in height, and species growing at the highest altitude of the palm family (Arecaceae), at more than in elevation. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ( ("wax") and (, "wood"). Description. "Ceroxylon" palms develop single, smooth, wax-covered, often whitish cylindrical trunks encircled by ringed leafbase scars. "Ceroxylon" species are dioecious (the individual  plant produces flowers of only one sex). Leaves are pinnate. Inflorescences emerge from among, and often project conspicuously beyond, the leaves. Round fruits, up to one inch in diameter, are red or orange at maturity. Many "Ceroxylon" species are endangered by habitat destruction. Two species of Andean wax palms, "C. quindiuense" and "C. alpinum", provide nesting sites and food for a species of Colombian parrot now in danger of extinction, "Ognorhynchus icterotis". Uses. In Colombia, "Ceroxylon" palms are frequently harvested for their wood. "Ceroxylon" palm leaves are also used in Palm Sunday ceremonies. Cultivation. Several "Ceroxylon" species, including "C. quindiuense , C. alpinum", "C. vogelianum", "C. ventricosum", and "C. parvifrons", are cultivated as ornamental trees outside their native range in cool, humid, mild climates with minimal frosts, such as parts of Australia, coastal California, Hawai'i, New Zealand, South Africa, and coastal Western Europe. The Jose Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden in Bogotá, Colombia, contains an extensive planting of "Ceroxylon" palms. Other public gardens where cultivated "Ceroxylon" spp. can be viewed include the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, the Huntington Botanical Gardens, in Pasadena (near Los Angeles), California, and the Oakland Palmetum at the Lakeside Garden Center  in Oakland, California. Species. The genus contains the following species: