Palms   Syagrus romanzoffiana in Argentina

Synonymy: Arecastrum romanzoffiana Local Names: Pindo, Coco Pindo, Coquito General: The habitat of Syagrus romanzoffiana extends along big rivers in humid but not flooded forests. In Argentina it extends approximately from 32° South to the border with Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay. It grows in all type of soils, that which gives to the palm different aspects. In the shade of the forests, it grows thin and it arrives at 15m of height looking for the sun and in the ranges, in full sun, it has thick and low trunks and gets to about 8m high. In the habitat, it grows mixed with Butia yatay , Copernicia alba , Acrocomia aculeata and other palms, according to the area. S. romanzoffiana tolerates transplanting very well when mature, and this meant that it was pulled up of the habitat for ornamentation in cities and parks, which produced an important decrease of wild palms. Today, its cultivated commercially. Probably, this is one of the most well-known palms in the world, because it tolerates high temperatures and frost and is easy to transplant. Locally called "Pindo" but known as "Queen Palm" in cultivation. This palm has dark green pinate leaves, up to 4m long, its mature fruits are yellow and the seeds germinate easily if are fresh.

Figure 1. S. romanzoffiana in cleared habitat, central Corrientes province, Argentina.

Figure 2. Approximate location of S. romanzoffiana habitat in Argentina.

Contributed by:	José Grassia (Text)
	Alberto Ferrari (Figure 1)

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