A palm with a thin and tall stipe and a uniform diameter, reaching heights of 45 feet.

[5] It grows in the forest of creeks in the mountains, and on the steep slopes of the highest peaks in Puerto Rico.

It is also found in Toro Negro State Forest, in the Puerto Rico Cordillera Central.

[8] Prestoea: generic name in honor of Henry Prestoe (1842–1923), English botanist and traveler, who collected the plant in Trinidad.

[10] Relationship with inhabiting frog Common coquí: Eleutherodactylus coqui