Itaya amicorum

Itaya (ih-TAH-yah) amicorum (ahm-ih-KOR-uhm)
Botanic Gardens, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Itaya (ih-TAH-yah) Species: amicorum (ahm-ih-KOR-uhm)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Palmate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Xila, Miraña.

Habitat and Distribution

Brazil North, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

South Florida. Conservatory of Dr. Jeff Block, Ron Kiefert giving scale. Photo by Ryan Gallivan, of Searle brothers Nursery, FL.

Comments and Curiosities

This is a monotypic genus.

Etymology: The genus name, Named after a Peruvian river where the palm was discovered. The specific epithet, is from the Latin, and means 'of friends' referring to the the spirit of the program under which it was discovered by Harold E. Moore and his associates in Peru.

Uses: Construction - The leaves are used in construction of roofs for dwellings. Tools and utensils. Hats are made from the leaves. After burning the trunk, cooking salt and filtering plant extract, used for the preparation of ambil (snuff concentrated paste).

Native to lowland rainforest in the western Amazon basin in Colombia, Peru and Brazil, this extraordinary palm sports a slender, solitary trunk that can grow to about 3 m (10 ft.) tall and holds a broad crown of very large, remarkable leaves, to 2 m (7 ft.) in diameter, that are silvery white below and divided into only 10 to 16 very broad segments. It is closely related to Chelyocarpus, with which it shares some botanically rather unspecialized features. It is best suited for the tropical garden, where it demands a sheltered spot, well protected from stronger winds. In cultivation it is rather rarely seen. (RPS.com)