Bactris guineensis (L.) H.E.Moore, Gentes Herb. 9: 251 (1963)

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Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Colombia present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Costa Rica present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Nicaragua present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Panamá present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Venezuela present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)B
Pacific slope of Central America in Nicaragua (Chontales, Granada), Costa Rica (Guanacaste, Puntarenas), Panama (Coclé, Los Santos, Panamá), northern Colombia (Atlántico, Bolívar, Córdoba, La Guajira, Magdalena, Sucre), and Venezuela (Bolívar, Cojedes, Guárico, Monagas, Portuguesa, Zulia). (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)A

Habitat

  • Open, often disturbed places, and deciduous forest, often near the coast, in areas that experience prolonged dry seasons, I0-400 m elevation. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)A

Discussion

  • Baetris guineensis is diagnosed by its linear, pale gray-green pinnae that are asymmetrically and briefly bifid at the apex and readily fall from dried specimens. Synonymy was established by de Nevers et al. (1996). Glassman (1972) and Henderson et al. (1995) included Aiphanes minima (Gaertner) Burret in synonymy here but it does not belong. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)A

Common Name

  • Colombia: lata, lata de corozo. Costa Rica: viscoyol. Nicaragua: coyolillo, coyolito. Panama: caña brava, caña brava blanca, corocillo, uvita de monte, uvito. Venezuela: jubita, pinkicho, piritu. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)A

Description

  • Stems cespitose, spreading by rhizomes, sometimes forming large clumps, 0.8-3 m tall, 2-3 cm diam., often covered with persistent, decaying leaf bases.
    Leaves 5-11; leaf spines yellowish, black at base and apex, terete or slightly flattened, to 9(-15) cm long, dense and short on sheath, scattered and longer on petiole and rachis; sheath 15-60 cm long, fibrous on margins, sheath, petiole, and rachis whitish brown-tomentose; ocrea to 5 cm long; petiole to 5 cm long; rachis 20-40 cm long; pinnae 20-42 per side, regularly or slightly irregularly arranged (often with gaps), spreading more or less in the same plane or in different planes, linear or lanceolate, asymmetrically and briefly bifid subapically, pale gray-green, readily falling from dried specimens; middle pinnae 15-30 x 0.9-2 cm.
    Inflorescences interfoliar; peduncle 10-20 cm long, straight, spiny; prophyll to 20 cm long; peduncular bract 25-35 cm long, whitish tomentose, moderately covered with spreading, yellowish spines to 1 cm long; rachis 2-5 cm long; rachillae 11-30,8-11 cm long, at anthesis densely covered with moniliform trichomes; triads irregularly arranged among paired or solitary staminate flowers; staminate flowers 3-4 mm long; sepal lobes 1.5-2 mm long; petals 3-4 mm long; stamens 6; pistillode small; pistillate flowers 2.5-4 mm long; calyx cupular, 0.7-1 mm long; corolla tubular, 2.5-4 mm long; staminodes minute or absent; fruits 1.5-2 cm diam., depressed-globose, briefly rostrate, purple-black; mesocarp juicy; endocarp depressed-oblong, the sterile pores markedly displaced longitudinally to one end; endocarp fibers numerous, with juice sacs attached; fruiting perianth with entire, 3-lobed calyx and truncate corolla, without staminodial ring. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)A

Bibliography

    A. Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000
    B. World Checklist of Arecaceae