Bactris syagroides Barb.Rodr. & Trail, Enum. Palm. Nov. : 33 (1875)

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Eastern Amazon region of Brazil (Amazonas, Pará), lowland rain forest on terra firme.

Bactris syagroides is diagnosed by its 30-38, narrowly linear (25-35 x 0.7-1 cm) pinnae per side, more or less regularly arranged and spreading in the same plane. This species is still poorly known and there are few collections. The neotype closely matches the type of B. multiramosa, and the latter is thus placed in synonymy. Burret was somewhat puzzled by Kuhlmann?s collection (type of B. multiramosa), because although it appeared to be related to the Amylocarpus group, it had many more rachillae than usual.

Stems cespitose, 0.6-1.5 m tall, 0.8-2 cm diam., covered with persistent, decaying leaf bases, not spiny on internodes. Leaves 5-8; leaf spines scattered, black, somewhat flattened, to 1 cm long, few to moderate on sheath and proximal part of petiole, occasionally absent; sheath 10-20 cm long; ocrea to 1 cm long; petiole 45-90 cm long; rachis 50-58 cm long; pinnae 30-38 per side, more or less regularly arranged and spreading in the same plane, narrowly linear, with spinules on veins abaxially; middle pinnae 25-35 x 0.7-1 cm. Inflorescences interfoliar; peduncle to 4.5 cm long, recurved, spiny; prophyll 5-6 cm long; peduncular bract 10-12 cm long, densely covered with soft, black spines to 1.5 cm long, with white, swollen base; rachis 0-1.5 cm long; rachillae 7-13, 4-6 cm long, at anthesis densely covered at anthesis with brown, moniliform trichomes; triads regularly arranged almost throughout rachillae; staminate flowers 3-4 mm long; sepal lobes 0.5-1 mm long; petals 3-4 mm long; stamens 4-6; pistillode absent; pistillate flowers 2-3 mm long; calyx cupular, 0.3-1 mm long; corolla tubular, 2-3 mm long; staminodes 6, linear; fruits 6-8 mm diam., globose, yellow-orange; mesocarp starchy; endocarp obovoid, pitted, the pores equally spaced; endocarp fibers few or absent; fruiting perianth with 3-lobed calyx and corolla, without staminodial ring.