Bactris ferruginea

Bactris (BAHK-triss) ferruginea (fehr-roo-jihn-EH-ah)
Photo-Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Bactris (BAHK-triss) Species: ferruginea (fehr-roo-jihn-EH-ah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
Morphology
Habit: Clustering & caespitose, rarely solitary. Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Brazil: brejaubinha-de-espinoamarelo, mané veio, mané velho, tucum.

Habitat and Distribution

Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil (Bahia, Espfrito Santo, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco).

Photo-Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil.

Lowland rain forest, gaps, or forest margins, on non-flooded soils, at 50-200 m elevation.

Description

Stems cespitose, rarely solitary, 2.5-10 m tall, 4-10 cm in diam., spiny on internodes. Leaves 5-12 in the crown; leaf spines somewhat clustered, black, brown or rarely yellowish, slightly flattened, to 6 cm long, dense on sheath, on lateral surfaces or in 3 longitudinal rows on petiole, fewer on rachis; sheath 25-31 cm long; ocrea not seen; petiole 20-88 cm long; rachis 1.1-2.4 m long; pinnae 25-54 per side, irregularly arranged, spreading in different planes, sigmoid; middle pinnae 35-76 x 2-8 cm. lnflorescences interfoliar; peduncle 8-33 cm long, recurved, not spiny; prophyll 25-28 cm long; peduncular bract 30-75 cm long, sparsely to moderately covered with brownish or yellowish spines to 1.5 cm long; rachis 25-43 cm long; rachillae 17-49, 8-29 cm long, at anthesis densely covered with moniliform trichomes; triads irregularly arranged among paired or solitary staminate flowers; staminate flowers 4-5 mm long; sepal lobes 1.5-2.5 mm long; petals 4-5 mm long; stamens 6; pistillode absent; pistillate flowers to 6 mm long; calyx cupular, 1 mm long; corolla tubular, 3-5 mm long; staminodes minute or absent; fruits 1.3-2 cm in diam., depressed-globose, briefly rostrate, purple-black; mesocarp juicy; endocarp depressed-oblong, the pores displaced longitudinally; endocarp fibers numerous, with juice sacs attached; fruiting perianth with minute calyx and truncate corolla, without staminodial ring. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Bactris ferruginea is diagnosed by its 30-75 cm long peduncular bract that is sparsely to moderately covered with brownish or yellowish spines to 1.5 cm long. South of the Rio Jequitinonha in Bahia and in Espírito Santo, the leaf spines are yellowish (Noblick, 1991), and these plants were recognized as a distinct variety (var. xanthacantha, not validly published) by Noblick (1991). Boudet Fernandes (1995) stated that it is possible that Bactris ferruginea is conspecific with B. setosa, in which case Noblick?s variety could be an intermediate form. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb.