Bactris cuspidata
Bactris (BAHK-triss) cuspidata (kuhs-pee-DAH-tah) | |||||||
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Barcarena, Para, Brazil. Photo by André Cardoso. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Central Amazon region in Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazil (Amazonas, Para); lowland rain forest on terra firme, at 250-780 m elevation. Lowland rain forest on terrafirme, at 250-780 m elevation.Description
Stems cespitose, 1-1.5 m tall, 6-8 mm in diam. Leaves 4-5 in the crown; leaf spines scattered, black, somewhat flattened , to 2 cm long, moderate to dense on sheath and petiole, usually absent from rachis; sheath 13-17 cm long, sheath, petiole, and rachis whitish or brownish tomentose; ocrea to 2 cm long; petiole 35-40 cm long; rachis 30-46 cm long; pinnae 6-13 per side, irregularly arranged in distant clusters, linear-lanceolateto sigmoid or ellipsoid, cuspidate, glabrous orsparsely pilose abaxially to densely pilose on both surfaces; 14-25 x 2-5 cm. Inflorescences interfoliar; peduncle 4-6 cm long, strongly recurved, spiny; prophyll to 8 cm long; peduncular bract 9-12 cm long, densely covered with easily removed, black, soft, straight spines to 1 cm long; rachis absent; rachillae 2-8, 2.5-3.5 cm long, at anthesis densely covered with short, flexuous, whitish trichomes intermixed with fewer, longer, brown spinules; triads regularly arranged but with a few paired staminate flowers intermixed; staminate flowers to 3 mm long; sepal lobes to 0.5 mm long; petals to 3 mm long; stamens 5; pistillode absent; pistillate flowers 2-3.5 mm long; calyx annular, 0.2-1 mm long; corolla tubular, 2-3.5 mm long, densely spinulose; staminodes absent; fruits 6-7 mm in diam., globose to obovoid, rostrate, orange-red; mesocarp starchy; endocarp turbinate, the pores equidistant; endocarp fibers few; fruiting calyx not seen. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.
Bactris cuspidata is diagnosed by its 1-1.5 m tall, 6-8 mm diameter stem, pistillate flowers with the calyx 0.2-1 mm long and densely spinulose corolla 2-3.5 mm long, and orange-red fruits 6-7 mm in diameter. Synonymy was established by Henderson (1995). Bactris floccosa, included here as a synonym, differs somewhat in its pistillate corolla, and may infact be a distinct taxon. There are few collections attributable to this putative taxon, and these are scattered over a wide area (the type is reported from the Rio Japurá, outside the range of the other specimens). Thus, as understood here, B. cuspidata is rather heterogeneous. Populations from French Guiana have brown-tomentose petioles and pilose pinnae, whereas those from the Amazon valley have white-tomentose petioles and non-pilose pinnae. It has frequently been confused in the past with pinnate-leafed forms of B.simplicifrons. Many more collections are needed to better understand this species. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb.
Culture
Comments and Curiosities
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.