Oenocarpus balickii

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Oenocarpus (oh-eh-no-KAR-puhs)
balickii (bah-LEEK-ee)
Bacaba1.jpg
At km 60 of the BR-307, already in Amazon territory, near the branch to the Moa river. Brazil. Photo by Dr. Evandro Ferreira.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Oenocarpus (oh-eh-no-KAR-puhs)
Species:
balickii (bah-LEEK-ee)
Synonyms
Oenocarpus bacaba var. parvus (Old name)
Native Continent
America
America.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
'bacaba caranaí'.

Habitat and Distribution

Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. Lowland rain forests,
At km 60 of the BR-307, already in Amazon territory, near the branch to the Moa river. Brazil. Photo by Dr. Evandro Ferreira.
on land that is not subject to seasonal inundation, at elevations from 150 - 350 metres.

Description

Oenocarpus balickii is a single-stemmed palm, usually growing 7 - 14 metres tall with some specimens to 20 metres. The unbranched stem can be 6 - 12 cm in diameter, it is topped by a crown of 7 - 11 large leaves.

Solitary palm; trunk 10.32 m long, 8 cm in diameter. 6 contemporaneous leaves. Leaf ragged (6 leaves sampled) 112-120 pairs of pinnae in groups of 2-6, in different directions, regularly disposed in one plane in the 30 cm toward the apex; shealth 41 cm long 30 cm in diameter; petiole 0-5 cm; rachis 306-333 cm long; median pinna 55-64.5 cm long x 2.9-3.5 cm wide. Inflorescence 57 rachillae; 38.2-40.5 cm (m=39.6, r=0.8; n=10) base without flower 4.7-7.0 cm; median part with pistillate flowers, 12.5-17.5 cm long; apical part with staminate flowers 17.0-19.6 cm; Infructescence: 61 rachillae Fruit blue-black when ripe. Editing by edric.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

Etymology: The specific epithet 'Balickii' is a tribute to the great American ethnobotanical researcher Michael J. Balick, who had studied Oenocarpus in his doctoral dissertation (1980), and published an extensive work on the systematics of the group in 1986. the bacaba-of-caranaí in Acre in Acre territory, bacaba-of-caranaí has only been found in the Juruá valley, always in areas of primary forest land.

Uses: Oils as well as a beverage are prepared by the Shawi indians of Peru.

Oenocarpus balickii F. Kahn (sinamillo: Peru). This recently described species (Kahn 1990) is found in Amazonian Peru, Brazil, Colombia and perhaps elsewhere. It is distinguished from O. mapora by its solitary habit, greater number of pinnae and smaller fruit. It is common in well-drained sites in primary forest, where it can be found in great abundance. Its fruit is used to make a beverage, similar to that made from patauá.



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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