Parajubaea cocoides

Parajubaea cocoides, the mountain coconut, coco Cumbe or Quito palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It occurs in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru.

Parajubaea cocoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Parajubaea
Species:
P. cocoides
Binomial name
Parajubaea cocoides

Description

Palms up to 16 m tall, trunk up to 45 cm in diameter.[1][2] Leaves 3–4 m long, dark green above, grayish green beneath, with 60-70 pairs of segments or pinnae, the longest pinnae in the middle up to 70 cm long.[2][3] Inflorescence 1–2 m long, with 50-70 short branches.[2] Fruit ellipsoid, 4-5.5 cm long, 2.8–4 cm in diameter, greenish brown.[1]

Parajubaea cocoides next to the Cathedral, at Cuenca, Ecuador.

Distribution and habitat

Known only from cultivation in the Andean valleys of southern Colombia and Ecuador at elevations of 2000–3000 m.[1][3] However, an alleged natural population was reported in a town in northern Peru at 1900 m.[4]

Uses

Parajubaea cocoides is cultivated as an ornamental palm for parks and avenues.[5] Outside its area of origin, it is found in cultivation in San Francisco, Sydney, Costa del Sol, and northern New Zealand.[3][5] The fruits are edible.[3][5]

References
  1. Henderson, Andrew; Galeano-Garces, Gloria; Bernal, Rodrigo (1997). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton University Press. p. 151. ISBN 0691016003.
  2. Borchsenius, Finn; Pedersen, Henrik Borgtoft; Balslev, Henrik (1998). Manual to the Palms of Ecuador. Department of Systematic Botany, Aarhus University in collaboration with Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. p. 153. ISBN 9788787600538.
  3. Del Cañizo, Jose Antonio (2011). Palmeras (in Spanish). Mundi-Prensa Libros. ISBN 9788484763994.
  4. Roca, F (2010). "Parajubaea cocoides, a new record for Peru". Palms. 54 (3): 133–136.
  5. National Research Council. (1989). Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. p. 319-321
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