Sierra Palm

The Sierra Palm is a tall, skinny palm tree from the mountains of Puerto Rico. People here call it palma de sierra, which means mountain palm. It has a thin trunk, called a stipe, that can grow up to about 45 feet tall. That is taller than a four-story building. Its leaves, called fronds, spread out at the very top like a green crown reaching for the sky.

Meet the Sierra Palm, known across Puerto Rico by its Spanish name, palma de sierra, or mountain palm. It is a slender tree with a thin trunk, called a stipe, that can stretch up to about 45 feet into the air. Its fronds gather in a leafy crown at the top, where they catch the most light. The name montana in its scientific name simply means from the mountain, a perfect clue to where this palm makes its home.

This palm is a mountain specialist. It grows on the steep slopes of Puerto Rico's highest peaks. It also grows along the forests of creeks high in the hills. You can find it in places like Toro Negro State Forest in the island's central mountains, and in El Yunque. It grows on other Caribbean islands too, both the bigger ones and the smaller ones. The Sierra Palm likes wet, tilted ground where many other trees find it hard to grow.

The Sierra Palm is a true mountain dweller. It thrives on the steep, soggy slopes of Puerto Rico's highest peaks and in the forests that line mountain creeks. It grows in spots like Toro Negro State Forest in the Cordillera Central, the island's central mountain range. You can also find it in El Yunque and across both the Greater and Lesser Antilles of the wider Caribbean. Scientists studying the Luquillo Mountains have noticed something interesting. This palm is associated with landslides, growing on the steep, waterlogged ground that slides leave behind.

The Sierra Palm is a giver in its forest. Its fruit is the favorite food of the Puerto Rican parrot, a colorful bird that lives in Puerto Rico. The palm also grows where landslides have opened up the slopes. It takes root on the steepest, wettest hillsides where many other trees cannot. That makes it a quiet part of the mountains.

Every plant has a role in the rainforest, and the Sierra Palm plays an important one. Its fruit is the favorite food of the Puerto Rican parrot, so this palm helps feed one of the island's birds. The Sierra Palm is also tied to landslides. In the Luquillo Mountains, studies have found it growing on slopes torn open by landslides, taking hold where the land is too steep and waterlogged for most trees.