Bactris hondurensis
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 La Selva Biological Station, Osa peninsula, Costa Rica. Photo by Dr. Reinaldo Aguilar, edric. | ||||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Bactris hondurensis is native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panamá.
Description
Stems solitary or clustering, but usually caespitose (growing in tufts or clumps), 1-2.5 (-4) m tall and 0.5-1.5 cm in diameter. 5-9 sheets, sheet generally simple and forked, of 36-71 cm long and 26-39 cm wide, occasionally pinnate and then with 1-8 pinnae on each side, the apical pinnae wider, generally hairy on the underside , rachis 15-50 cm long, sheath, petiole and rachis with few spines up to 1 cm long, black, interspersed with spines up to 2 cm long, yellow or black. Peduncular bract inflorescences moderately to densely covered with soft spines, patents, up to 1 cm long, black, brown or yellowish rachillas 3-7, irregularly arranged triads between staminate flowers in pairs or solitary. Fruit broadly obovoid, 1.2-1.5 cm in diameter, orange or red. This is an Understory palm. Trunks both, solitary, and clustering, to 1 m long, 1-2 cm in diameter. Leaves simple; blade 40-60 cm long, and 30-40 cm wide, with minute spines along the margin near apex, otherwise spineless. Inflorescence 10-20 cm long, with spiny prophyll and peduncular bract; branches 4-6, to 3 cm long. Female flowers scattered along the branches. Fruits red, globose, 1.5 cm in diameter or more; fruiting perianth with a very small, inconspicuous calyx, and a large, disc-shaped corolla; staminodial ring absent. Habitat: Central America to Ecuador W of the Andes. In Ecuador it occurs in tropical and premontane wet and pluvial forest in the NW part of the country. (From the Spanish). Editing by edric.
Understorey palm. Stems solitary or clustering, to 1-2 m high, 1-2 cm in diameter. Leaves simple; blade 40-60 cm long, and 30-40 cm wide, with minute spines along the margin near apex, otherwise spineless. Inflorescence 10-20 cm long, with spiny prophyll and peduncular bract; branches 4-6, to 3 cm long. Female flowers scattered along the branches. Fruits red, globose, 1.5 cm in diameter or more; fruiting perianth with a very small, inconspicuous calyx, and a large, disc-shaped corolla; staminodial ring absent. (Borchsenius, F. 1998)/Palmweb.
Culture
Comments and Curiosities
- IMAGE GALLERY
Flower Spathe
Seed
La Selva Biological Station, Osa peninsula, Costa Rica. Photo by Dr. Reinaldo Aguilar, edric.
La Selva Biological Station, Osa peninsula, Costa Rica. Photo by Dr. Reinaldo Aguilar, edric.
La Selva Biological Station, Osa peninsula, Costa Rica. Photo by Dr. Reinaldo Aguilar, edric.
Costa Rica.
Photo by Rolf Kyburz, edric.
Costa Rica.
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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).
Borchsenius, F.1998. Manual to the palms of Ecuador. AAU Reports 37. Department of Systematic Botany, University of Aarhus, Denmark in collaboration with Pontificia Universidad Catalica del Ecuador.
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.
