Kingdom Plantae Family Arecaceae Rank Species | Order Arecales Genus Prestoea | |
 | ||
Similar Prestoea, Dacryodes excelsa, Magnolia splendens, Cecropia schreberiana, Casearia arborea | ||
Prestoea montana (Vernacular English: Sierran palm; Vernacular Spanish: Palma de sierra) is a perennial palm in the Arecaceae family. It is considered a synonym of Prestoea acuminata var. montana.
Contents
Description
A palm with a thin and tall stipe and an unifom diameter reaching heights of up to 45 feet.
Habitat
It is found throughout the Greater Antilles as well as the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. Generally found in tall mountains of up to 1300 feet high. It forms the forestry of creeks up high in the mountains and on the steep mountainside of the highest peaks in Puerto Rico. It is found in Toro Negro State Forest, in the Puerto Rico Cordillera Central. The plant is native to Puerto Rico.
Uses
The fruit of Prestoea montana (Sierra Palm) is the favorite food of the Puerto Rican parrot.
Taxonomy
Prestoea montana was described by (Graham) G.Nicholson and published in The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening, . . . 3: 216. 1886.
Prestoea: generic name in honor of Henry Prestoe (1842–1923), English botanist and traveler, who collected the plant in Trinidad.
montana: from the Latin, meaning "from the mountain".