Bactris corossilla

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Bactris (BAHK-triss)
corossilla (koh-ROHS-sihl-lah)
AREC-bact-cor-ecu-10018.jpg
Ecuador. Photo by Dr. Robin Foster.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Bactris (BAHK-triss)
Species:
corossilla (koh-ROHS-sihl-lah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
America.gif
Morphology
Habit: Clustering, often caespitose, occasionally solitary.
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Brazil: marajá. Colombia: eoquito,cuparú; (Yucuna). Ecuador: kamancha (Shuar). Peru: ñejilla. Venezuela: du (Piaroa), juduaro, macanillo.

Habitat and Distribution

Coastal range, Andes, and adjacent regions of Venezuela (Apure, Carabobo, Mérida, Táchira) and
Yasuni National Park, Orellana, Ecuador. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Colombia (Norte de Santander), south to the western Amazon region in Colombia (Amazonas, Meta, Vaupes), Venezuela (Amazonas, Bolívar), Ecuador (Marana-Santiago, Napa, Pastaza,Sucumbros), Peru (Amazonas, Loreto, Ucayali), and Brazil (Acre, Amazonas); lowland to montane rain forest on well-drained slopes, at 100-1400 m elevation.

Description

Stems usually cespitose and sometimes forming dense clumps, occasionally solitary, (1-)2-4(-6) m tall , 1-3(-4) cm diam., spiny on internodes. Leaves 5-12 in the crown; leaf spines clustered, black or dark brown, terete, to 5 cm long, usually dense on sheath and adaxial surfaces of petiole, occasionally absent; sheath 20-70 cm long, sheath, petiole, and rachis green, not or scarcely tomentose; ocrea to 20 cm long, entire and persistent; petiole 20-80 cm long; rachis 0.4-1.1 m long; blade simple and bifid, or pinnate with 3-18 pinnae per side, the apical one usually broad, irregularly arranged in clusters, spreading in different planes, linear to sigmoid aristate, with prominent veins; blade 0.6-2 m long, 23-34 cm wide at apex of rachis, middle pinnae of pinnate leaves 40-50 x 3-5 cm. Inflorescences interfoliar; peduncle 11-25 cm long, recurved, spiny; prophyll 10-20 cm long; peduncular bract 18-40 cm long, sulcate abaxially, densely spiny with more or less spreading, flexuous, soft ,brown spines; rachis 1-5 cm long; rachillae 4-14, 7-13 cm long, with prominent staminate flower bracteoles, at anthesis densely covered with flexuous, brown trichomes; Triads irregularly arranged among paired or solitary staminate flowers, the bracteoles prominent; staminate flowers 5-6 mm long; sepal lobes 1.5-2 mm long; petals 5-6 mm long; stamens 6; pistillode small; pistillate flowers 5-6 mm long; calyx tubular, 5-6 mm long; corolla tubular, 3-4 mm long, glabrous or occasionally minutely spiulose; staminodes absent; Fruits 2-2.5 x 1.7-2 cm, depressed globose to obovoid, prominently rostrate, green becoming yellow and then purple-black; mesocarp thin; endocarp turbinate, the sterile pores slightly displaced longitudinally; endocarp fibers free, numerous, without juice sacs attached; fruiting perianth with small, 3-lobed calyx and longer, 3-lobed corolla, without staminodial ring. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Bactris corossilla is diagnosed by its entire and persistent oerea to 20 cm long, depressed-globose to obovoid, prominently rostrate fruits 2-2.5 x 1.7-2 cm that mature green, yellow, and then purple-black, andendocarp fibers without juice sacs attached. Synonymy was established by Wessels Boer (1988) and Henderson (1995). The holotype is destroyed, and I have therefore designated a neotype. This is an extremely heterogeneous species as here conceived, with an unlikely distribution, and it may eventually be split into several taxa. Specimens from the Venezuelan Andes are medium-sized plants with simple or pinnate leaves. When the leaves are pinnate, the apical pinna is much wider than the others. Plants from the Venezuelan Amazon region are smaller and usually have simple leaves and those from the Colombian Amazon are smaller still. Some specimens from Peru and adjacent Ecuador are much larger than the normal, with pinnate leaves and larger fruits. In some respects these approach Bactris fissifrons; other specimens from the Brazilian Amazon seem to approach B. macroacantha. A specimen from Peru, Moore et al. 8515 (cited above) appears to be B. corossilla, but the fruits resemble those of B. macroacantha. These three species (B. corossilia, B. fissifrons, B. macroacanlha) may be more closely related than previously thought, although they were placed in three different clades by Sanders (1991). Some specimens cited above (Balsley et al. 60515, Balsley et al. 62039, Vasquez & Jaramillo 12762, Henderson et al. 820) were included by Henderson (1995) under Bactris maraja var. juruensis. These, plus a few others (Balslev et al. 60737, Balslev 62470, Bergmann et al. 97810), are smaller palms with pinnate leaves, and may also represent a distinct taxon. One specimen, notcited above (Colombia. Meta: Mun. Vista Hermosa, Rio Sardinatas, Serrania de la Macarena, 600 m, 2 Feb 1985, Henderson et al. 114 (COL, NY)) may be a hybrid with some other species (possibly B. maraja). (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

Uses: Leaves are used for wrapping and packing materials. The mesocarp and the endosperm are edible. The stem is used to make improvised hunting spears. The palm fruits and heart are edible. Leaves are used to wrap meat and vegetables to be prepared by steaming or directly in the fire. Medicinal use. The stem is used for floor-platforms and for making blowguns.




External Links

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.

Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.

Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).

Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000


Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.

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