Gaussia princeps (palm)

Gaussia princeps
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Gaussia
Species: G. princeps
Binomial name
Gaussia princeps
H.Wendl.

Gaussia princeps, commonly known as palma de sierra,[1] is a palm which is endemic to Cuba.[2] The species grows on steep-sided limestone hills (known as mogotes) in Pinar del Río Province in western Cuba.[1]

Gaussia princeps trees are 8 metres (or more) tall with whitish stems which are swollen at the base and tapering above. Stems are 30 centimetres in diameter at the base. Trees have three to six pinnately compound leaves. Fruit are orange-red, 1 cm long and 7 millimetres in diameter, with one to three seeds.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Henderson, Andrew; Gloria Galeano; Rodrigo Bernal (1995). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08537-4. 
  2. ^ "Gaussia princeps". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/wcsp/namedetail.do?accepted_id=88909&repSynonym_id=-9998&name_id=88909&status=true. Retrieved 2006-12-08.