Astrocaryum gynacanthum

Astrocaryum (ahs-tro-kahr-EE-uhm) gynacanthum (jihn-ah-KAHN-tuhm)
Brazil. Photo by Steven Alexander
Scientific Classification
Genus: Astrocaryum (ahs-tro-kahr-EE-uhm) Species: gynacanthum (jihn-ah-KAHN-tuhm)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
Morphology
Habit: Solitary & clustering. Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
In Venezuela, Corioco Palm. In Colombia it is commonly known as mace, palm serrillo, macanilla, chonta, coconut pork (Muinane).

Habitat and Distribution

Astrocaryum gynacanthum is found in Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Widely distributed throughout the Amazon basin, in the undergrowth. Elev. 200-300 m.

Belém, Brasil. Photo by Dr. André Cardoso

Description

Solitary palm, trunk hight 4 m., diam. 5 cm., leaves about 8 in the crown, spirally arranged and spreading, leaf sheath and petiole 145 cm., long, with the petiole alone only 45 cm., smooth margins with a fiberous leaf sheath, rounded both adaxially, and abaxially, leaf rachis 187-193 cm. long, 25-28 pairs of pinnae evenly distributed along the rachis in one plane, middle pinnae 80-84 mm. long, 4-4.5 mm. wide. Inflorescence: androgynous spicate, with 50-60 cm. long peduncle, and 16-17 cm. long rachis bract, peduncular bract having a total length of 70 cm., beak absent, the expanded or inflated part of the bract measuring 22 cm. long, and 6 cm. wide, with 1a 10 cm. perimeter. Fruit: Bright orange when mature, and the epicarp splits open in a flower-like fashion. Editing by edric.

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b.

Comments and Curiosities

Occasionally fruit is a food source and heart is used to prepare vegetable salt, Uitoto (is burned, then cooked and the mixture is filtered) that is mixed with the ambil snuff.