Iriartea Ruiz & Pav., Fl. Peruv. Prodr. : 149 (1794)

Content

Number of Taxa

1 species

Distribution

Map accurate to TDWG level 3 distributions

Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Venezuela (World Checklist of Monocotyledons)
A single species, distributed from Costa Rica and Nicaragua southwards to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil. (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Discussion

Iriartea is distinguished from Socratea by the denserather than open cone of stilt roots, the closed staminateflowers with fewer stamens, the clavate rather than spinosepollen, and the very different pollination syndrome describedby Henderson (1985). (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Biology And Ecology

Frequently gregarious in lowland tropical rain forest but reaching 1200 m, often as a distinct component of the forest canopy. Pollination is by bees (Henderson 1985). (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Common Name

Stilt palm, horn palm. (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Etymology

Commemorates Bernardo de Iriarte (1735–1814), Spanish diplomat. (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Diagnosis

Robust solitary pinnate-leaved palm of humid rain forest in Central and South America, the stems with a dense cone of stilt roots and sometimes ventricose; leaflets are rhomboid, praemorse, longitudinally divided to give the whole leaf an ostrich-feather appearance; fruit has apical stigma remains and a lateral embryo. (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Description

Solitary, robust, often very tall, unarmed, pleonanthic, monoecious tree palm. Stem erect, ± bellied, conspicuously ringed with leaf scars, bearing slender stilt roots forming a dense cone obscuring the stem base. Leaves rather few in number, pinnate, neatly abcising; sheaths forming a well-defined crownshaft; petiole rather short, adaxially channelled, abaxially rounded; rachis adaxially angled, abaxially rounded; leaflets large, asymmetrically deltoid to elliptic, the proximal margin entire for ca. 1/3 its length then praemorsely toothed, the distal margin entire for a shorter distance, then praemorsely toothed, ribs conspicuous sometimes with scaly margins, the main ribs diverging from the base to the margin, the whole leaflet usually irregularly split into linear segments displayed in different planes giving the leaf a plumose appearance, transverse veinlets not evident. Inflorescences solitary, infrafoliar, pendulous, strongly curved in bud, branching to 1 order distally to 2 orders proximally, protandrous; peduncle massive, ± circular in cross-section; prophyll short, tubular, 2-keeled, apically open; peduncular bracts 8–12, spirally arranged, tubular, the proximal several short, soon splitting, the distal very long, tubular, enclosing the inflorescence, all bracts variously hairy, eventually deciduous, leaving conspicuous, close annular scars; rachis equalling or slightly longer than the peduncle, bearing spirally arranged, minute, collar-like bracts; first-order branches digitately branched proximally, unbranched distally, bases of branches swollen; rachillae very long, moderately robust, bearing spirally arranged, slightly sunken, close triads throughout their length except at tips where bearing solitary or paired staminate flowers; rachilla bracts and floral bracteoles not evident. Staminate flowers ± symmetrical; sepals 3, distinct, gibbous, rounded, imbricate, bearing deciduous, bristle-like hairs; petals 3, 3–4 times longer than the sepals, valvate, ± boat-shaped and curved, the tips rounded to acute; stamens 9–20, filaments very short, slender, anthers elongate, acute to mucronate apically, latrorse; pistillode minute or lacking. Pollen ellipsoidal, ± bi-symmetric; aperture a distal sulcus; ectexine intectate, closely to densely gemmate, gemmae often coalesced into larger units, sometimes with large well-defined gemmae, surrounded by smaller gemmae, aperture margin similar; longest axis 31–35 µm [1/1]. Pistillate flowers smaller than the staminate; sepals 3, distinct, broadly imbricate; petals 3, distinct, broad, rounded, imbricate except at the triangular valvate tips; staminodes to 12, very small, tooth-like; gynoecium globose, trilocular, triovulate, stigmas 3, low, only 1 ovule normally maturing, basally attached, form unknown. Fruit mostly globose, yellow when ripe, stigmatic remains apical; epicarp smooth, mesocarp granular and fibrous, endocarp very thin. Seed globose, basally attached, hilum circular, raphe branches coarse anastomosing, endosperm homogeneous; embryo lateral. Germination adjacent-ligular; eophyll praemorse, undivided. Cytology: 2n = 32. (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Anatomy

Leaf (Tomlinson 1961, Roth 1990), root (Seubert 1998a, 1998b, Avalos 2004), stamen development (Uhl and Moore 1980), gynoecium (Uhl and Moore 1971), seed (Roth 1990). (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Relationships

For relationships, see Iriartella. (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Taxonomic accounts

Henderson (1990). (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Fossil record

Pinnate leaf fragments from the Miocene of Peru are described as Iriartites tumbezensis (Berry 1919b), although the author comments that this is, “…a convenient form-genus for the remains of fossil palms that appear to belong to tribe Iriarteeae, but whose exact generic identity is uncertain.” Furthermore, material described as Sabalites from the Tertiary of Venezuela (Berry 1921b) resembles a leaf of Iriartea, but these fossils need to be restudied. Gardner (1882) recovered an abundance of pinnate palm leaves from the Middle Eocene Bournemouth Freshwater Beds, which he considered to resemble Iriartea more than any other genus (Chandler 1963). A ‘palm nut’ from the Miocene of the Panama Canal Zone (Gatun) is described as being, “very close to the endocarp of Iriartea” (Berry 1921a) and a seed (Iriartea collazoënsis) recorded from the Middle Oligocene of Puerto Rico is considered to resemble closely those of Arenga and Iriartea (Hollick 1928). The anatomy of a large specimen ofstem wood, Palmoxylon iriarteum, from the West Indies(Antigua), in the collection of the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet,Stockholm, was described in detail by Stenzel (1897) whoconsidered it ancestral to Iriartea; no age is given. Comparisonsof palm stem wood or root to generic level should always beviewed with caution. (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Uses

The outer part of the trunk is extremely hard and durable and is used in the construction of dwellings and in making spears. Wallace (1853) records the use of swollen sections of the trunk as canoes (see also Johnson [1998]). Henderson et al. (1995) recorded the use of stems for coffins in the Choco region of Colombia. For medicinal uses, see Plotkin and Balick (1984). (J. Dransfield, N. Uhl, C. Asmussen, W.J. Baker, M. Harley and C. Lewis. 2008)

Uses

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Construcción de vivienda. (Ortiz, R. 1994)
Use Category Use Sub Category Plant Part Human Group Ethnic Group Country
Construction Houses Not specified Indigenous Yucuna Colombia

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Construction	Houses	Not specified	Indigenous	Yucuna	Colombia

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Construction. Present in young fallows. (Denevan, W., and J.M. Treacy. 1987)

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Environmental	Agroforestry	Entire plant	Indigenous	Bora	Peru
Environmental	Agroforestry	Entire plant	Indigenous	Bora	Peru
Construction	Other	Not specified	Indigenous	Bora	Peru
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Bora	Peru

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Construction. Present in young fallows. (Denevan, W., and J.M. Treacy. 1987)

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Environmental	Agroforestry	Entire plant	Indigenous	Bora	Peru
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Bora	Peru
Construction	Other	Not specified	Indigenous	Bora	Peru
Environmental	Agroforestry	Entire plant	Indigenous	Bora	Peru

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Crop in garden of household. (Salick, J. 1989)
Use Category Use Sub Category Plant Part Human Group Ethnic Group Country
Environmental Agroforestry Entire plant Indigenous Yanesha Peru

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Environmental	Agroforestry	Entire plant	Indigenous	Yanesha	Peru

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Para el piso (lasicco), en cambio, generalmente se hace de tiras (dojofina) de chonta ( bo´mbo), Guilielma insignis; (Iriartea sp.) o anacco (Socratea sp.). (...) La cubierta es por ejemplo de la hoja de chonta (Bomboje): otros materiales son las hojas de c (Einzmann, H. 1988)

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Construction	Thatch	Entire leaf	Indigenous	Cofán	Ecuador
Cultural	Personal adornment	Not specified	Indigenous	Cofán	Ecuador
Utensils and Tools	Hunting and fishing	Not specified	Indigenous	Cofán	Ecuador
Construction	Houses	Not specified	Indigenous	Cofán	Ecuador

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Planta comestible recolectada. Parte comestible, corazón. (Chirif, A. 1978)
Use Category Use Sub Category Plant Part Human Group Ethnic Group Country
Human Food Food Palm heart Indigenous Aguaruna Peru
Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Se utiliza su madera, aunque poco, por ser relativamente escasa, como"parket" de lujo. Se comen su chonta o cogollo y los "zures" del interior de su tronco. (Guallart, J.M. 1968)
Use Category Use Sub Category Plant Part Human Group Ethnic Group Country
Construction Houses Stem Indigenous Aguaruna Peru
Human Food Food Palm heart Indigenous Aguaruna Peru
Other N/A Stem Indigenous Aguaruna Peru
Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: The belly of the palm is used in Colombia to make containers for rubber. (Duke, J.A. 1970)
Use Category Use Sub Category Plant Part Human Group Ethnic Group Country
Utensils and Tools Domestic Stem Indigenous Not specified Colombia
Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: The dead trunks of all palm trees, including Ireartea, Euterpe, Mauritia, and Jessenia, all attract palm weevils. (Alexiades, M.N. 1999)
Use Category Use Sub Category Plant Part Human Group Ethnic Group Country
Other N/A Stem Indigenous Ese Ejja Peru
Other N/A Stem Indigenous Ese Ejja Bolivia

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Human Food	Food	Palm heart	Indigenous	Aguaruna	Peru

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Aguaruna	Peru
Human Food	Food	Palm heart	Indigenous	Aguaruna	Peru
Other	N/A	Stem	Indigenous	Aguaruna	Peru

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Utensils and Tools	Domestic	Stem	Indigenous	Not specified	Colombia

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Other	N/A	Stem	Indigenous	Ese Ejja	Peru
Other	N/A	Stem	Indigenous	Ese Ejja	Bolivia

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Trunk is split and used for flooring. (Vickers, W.T., and T. Plowman. 1984)

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Fuel	Fire starter	Stem	Indigenous	Siona-Secoya	Ecuador
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Siona-Secoya	Ecuador
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Siona-Secoya	Ecuador

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: trunk is split and used for flooring; also for kindling. (Vickers, W.T., and T. Plowman. 1984)

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Siona-Secoya	Ecuador
Fuel	Fire starter	Stem	Indigenous	Siona-Secoya	Ecuador
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Siona-Secoya	Ecuador

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Trunks of this palm are split and used to make floors and walls ofhouses, platforms, fences, and laths for thatch.The leaf sheath is employed to make a kitchen container. It is foldedinto the shape of a small, flat, rectangular box or tray, and the (Glenboski, L.L. 1983)

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Utensils and Tools	Domestic	Leaf sheath	Indigenous	Tikuna	Colombia
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Tikuna	Colombia
Environmental	Fences	Stem	Indigenous	Tikuna	Colombia

Iriartea Ruiz & Pav.: Uso alimenticio. Cogollo y frutos. (...). Los materiales más utilizados para las grandes piezas del armazón,(...), son dos especies de palmeras: el tuntuam (Iriartea sp.) y ampaki (Iriartea ventricosa Mart.) y (...). (Descola, P. 1989)

Use Category	Use Sub Category	Plant Part	Human Group	Ethnic Group	Country
Construction	Houses	Stem	Indigenous	Achuar	Ecuador
Human Food	Beverages	Palm heart	Indigenous	Achuar	Ecuador
Human Food	Food	Fruits	Indigenous	Achuar	Ecuador

Bibliography

Alexiades, M.N., Ethnobotany of the Ese Ejja: plants, health, and change in an amazonian society. 1999. 1999. Ethnobotany of the Ese Ejja: plants, health, and change in an amazonian society.
Chirif, A., Salud y nutrición en sociedades nativas. 1978. 1978. Salud y nutrición en sociedades nativas.
Denevan, W., and J.M. Treacy, Young managed Fallows at Brillo Nuevo. 1987. 1987. Young managed Fallows at Brillo Nuevo.
Descola, P., La selva culta- Simbolismo y praxis en la ecología de los Achuar. 1989. 1989. La selva culta- Simbolismo y praxis en la ecología de los Achuar.
Dransfield, J. , Uhl, N. , Asmussen, C. , Baker, W.J. , Harley, M. & Lewis, C. 2008. Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.
Duke, J.A., Ethnobotanical observations on the Chocó Indians. 1970. 1970. Ethnobotanical observations on the Chocó Indians.
Einzmann, H., Artesanía indígena del Ecuador: los Cofanes. 1988. 1988. Artesanía indígena del Ecuador: los Cofanes.
Glenboski, L.L., The Ethnobotany Of The Tukuna Indians. 1983. 1983. The Ethnobotany Of The Tukuna Indians.
Guallart, J.M., Nomenclatura Jibaro-Aguaruna de Palmeras en el Distrito de Cenepa.. 1968. 1968. Nomenclatura Jibaro-Aguaruna de Palmeras en el Distrito de Cenepa..
Ortiz, R., Uso, conocimiento y manejo de lagunos recursos naturales en el mundo Yucuna (Mirití-Paraná, Amazonas, Colombia).. 1994. 1994. Uso, conocimiento y manejo de lagunos recursos naturales en el mundo Yucuna (Mirití-Paraná, Amazonas, Colombia)..
Salick, J., Ecological basis of Amuesha agriculture, Peruvian upper Amazon. 1989. 1989. Ecological basis of Amuesha agriculture, Peruvian upper Amazon.
Vickers, W.T., and T. Plowman, Useful plants of the Siona and Secoya indians of Eastern Ecuador. 1984. 1984. Useful plants of the Siona and Secoya indians of Eastern Ecuador.
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