Wax Palms
Ceroxylon spp.
Palma de cera de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Ceroxylon ceriferum) - Flickr - Alejandro Bayer (1) by Alejandro Bayer Tamayo (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Full Sun
Moderate watering
Half-hardy
10a
USDA zone
-1°C
Minimum temperature
Expected size
Height | Spread | |
---|---|---|
60m | Max | 9m |
5m | Min | 3m |
Flowering


More images of Wax Palms
Wax Palms Overview
Ceroxylon is a genus of around 12 single-stemmed palm species in the Arecaceae family. These plants are native to the Andes Mountains of South America and they are commonly referred to as Wax Palms for their smooth waxy trunk coating. Their trunks are coloured green-brown, but with the wax layer, appears silvery-white. This wax is harvested and used commercially. This genus contains some of the tallest palm species in the world, they are slow-growing and produce pinnately divided foliage. These plants generally develop a funnel-shaped crown and this genus is termed dioecious and thus produces unisexual flowers, containing either male or female reproductive organs. These gendered flowers are produced on individual plants. The individual flowers measure between 0.35-0.9cm in length and they are coloured cream-yellow, leading onto rounded, red-orange fruits.