Prestoea acuminata (Willd.) H.E.Moore

A palm with one or many stems. They grow 6-15 m tall. The stems are 4-20 cm across. It has spiny stilt roots. There are 4-10 leaves. The leaf sheath is partly closed. The crown-shaft is purple-green. The leaf stalk is 1.1-2.6 m long. There are 30-80 leaflets on each side. They are narrow. The flowering stalks are horizontal. There are 23-117 flowering branches 3-20 cm long. The fruit are round and 1-1.2 cm across. They are purple-black. Some of these are now put in var. montana.

Premontane and montane areas on steep slopes at elevations from 1,000-2,000 metres. Palm forests along upland streams on steep slopes and ridges.

The palm heart can be eaten raw, fried or cooked.

See references Henderson, A., Galeano, G and Bernal, R., 1995, Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton. p 126