Astrocaryum aculeatum

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Astrocaryum (ahs-tro-kahr-EE-uhm) aculeatum (ah-koo-leh-AH-tuhm)
Aa0033.jpg
São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil; 3/2012. Photo by Dr. Sonja Germer.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Astrocaryum (ahs-tro-kahr-EE-uhm)
Species: aculeatum (ah-koo-leh-AH-tuhm)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
America
America.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Tucumã

Habitat and Distribution

Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, and Venezuela.
Habitat. Photo by Pablo Boni Herrera.
Found in and around the Amazon Basin. Common in un-sheltered areas with poor and degraded soils.

S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas.

Description

The trunk is solitary of 15-28 m tall and 30-35 cm in diameter, with black spines 15 cm long. The crown has 16 to 20 upright fan-shaped leaves with rachis of 4.5 to 5.5 m long, with 60-150 pinnae pairs each. Inflorescence erect peduncle 1.5 m, dioecious flowers with 3 petals burgundy. Fruits in clusters of 250, obovoid, each 6-8 cm long with a peak at the apex, 4 to 5.5 cm in diameter, green and ripe yellow, orange or brown; endocarp of 5 x 3.5 cm with a seed thickness of 7 mm. Rainforest. Dry land forests in the Amazon. Most frequent in deforested areas, usually associated with present and past human settlements. It is rarely found in lowland rainforest. Editing by edric.

Tucuma is an solitary-stemmed palm tree growing up to 25 metres tall, though usually much smaller. The unbranched stems are covered in long black spines; the stems can be 8 - 20 metres long and 12 - 25cm, occasionally to 40cm, in diameter; and they are topped with a rosette of 6 - 15 erect leaves that can each be up to 6 metres long.

This is one of the most popular fruits in the Amazon region, where it is usually gathered from the wild and is often sold in local markets. The tree is also often utilized from the wild by local people as a source of timber, food, oil and fibres. There is some evidence of former cultivation because of its frequent occurrence in the neighborhood of settlements and villages. It has been truly cultivated in Brazil by the indigenous peoples.

This species is closely related to Astrocaryum vulgare, differing mainly in producing just one trunk whilst Astrocaryum vulgare produces a cluster of trunks.

Culture

Plants succeed in moist tropical climates where temperatures never fall below 10°c, the average annual rainfall is 1,500mm or more and the driest month has 25mm or more rain. Requires a sunny, sheltered position. Plants prefer a well-drained soil, though they do not like dry conditions at their roots. Prefers a sandy soil Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b Seed -pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and sow in containers. The seed is enclosed in a hard endocarp which makes germination slow and erratic. Scarifying the seed before soaking can reduce germination time.

Comments and Curiosities

Uses: The Indigenous people use all parts of the leaf and petiole for rope fiber, utensils, and tools, hammocks, baskets and inmumerable items; complete pinnae are also used to make brushes. The pulpy mesocarp of ripe fruit is consumed, as the seed. the fruit is used as fish bait, and as a Wildlife attractant. Stems are used in construction. The logs that have been felled provide a food source in the larvae of beetles called "mojojoy". Used for production of biodiesel. Cultural; ritual; used to make a symbolic ring called a tucum ring. Produces a fruit, whose yellowish flesh is oily and very much appreciated by the locals, accompanied by cassava flour. Its leaves, macerated, provide a tough fiber used in the craft of gill nets and sleeping. The fruit has high nutritional value, and can be consumed in the form of ice cream, candies and jams. The pulp is prepared to make "tucumã wine". Medicinal: The Puinaves extract oil from the seeds and rub it on the chest to bring warm relief from severe pulmonary problems.

Fruit - raw or cooked. The orange, fibreless pulp is slightly sweet. The pulp is fibrous. A flavour similar to apricots. The fruit is 5 - 6cm in diameter and weighs around 7g. A good source of vitamins A, B and C. The endosperm of the seeds is eaten. An oil can be obtained from the fruits and the seed. Similar to coconut oil Leaves - cooked. The apical bud (known as the 'palm heart') is eaten as a vegetable. Not highly favoured. Eating this bud leads to the death of the tree because it is unable to make sideshoots.

Medicinal: The oil extracted from the seeds is used medicinally. The leaves are used to disinfect the umbilical cord of newborn babies, and as a remedy for thrush.

Other Uses: An oil can be obtained from the seed and fruits. The oil can be used as a biofuel. A fine, soft, strong fibre can be obtained from the leaves. It is used for weaving and cordage. The fibres of the young leaves are made into nets, hammocks etc. The fibre is easy to extract because it lies just under the epidermis of the leaf, which is so exceedingly thin that it is easily rubbed off, leaving the fibre white and clean. Wood - hard, strong and durable. It is used in making houses.

Fruit contains 50,000 i.u. per gram of pulp of Vitamin A, three times that of a carrot. Tucumã, and 90 times more than the avocado possessing high B vitamins (thiamine) and high content of vitamin C, rivaling the citrus. The Tucumán also has high energy (247 calories per 100 grams), and carbohydrates (19.1%), lipid (16.6%) and protídeos (3.5%). Thus, even ignoring the fact the Amazonian populations are well benefited by vitamin supply of T ucumã. The Indians use the leaves of the palm for making bowstrings, fishing nets and sleeping. Wood, hard and tough, do many things, and use the pulp oil and almonds, which besides cosmetíveis, use it to anoint the body and hair. In the capital of Amazonas, Manaus, is large consumption of tucumã. Well known, the X Caboquinho, sandwich bread with chips Tucumã , French bread and cheese curds, is the delight of manauaras in markets, bakeries and snacks in town.



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).


Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.

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