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{{Short description|Species of palm tree}}
{{Speciesbox
{{Speciesbox
|image = Mauritia flexuosa (19861732855).jpg
|image = Mauritia flexuosa (19861732855).jpg
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*''Mauritia vinifera'' <small>Mart.</small>
*''Mauritia vinifera'' <small>Mart.</small>
*''Saguerus americanus'' <small>H.Wendl.</small>
*''Saguerus americanus'' <small>H.Wendl.</small>
|synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-122230 The Plant List ''Mauritia flexuosa'']</ref>
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-122230 |title=Mauritia flexuosa L.f. — the Plant List |access-date=2014-04-20 |archive-date=2019-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191125080344/http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-122230 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
}}


'''''Mauritia flexuosa''''', known as the '''moriche palm''', ''ité'' palm, ''ita'', ''buriti'', ''muriti'', ''canangucho'' (Colombia), or ''aguaje'' (Peru), is a [[Arecaceae|palm]] tree. It grows in and near [[swamps]] and other wet areas in tropical [[South America]]. It has been reported from [[Trinidad]], [[Colombia]], [[Venezuela]], [[Guyana]], [[Suriname]], [[French Guiana]], [[Brazil]], [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]], and [[Bolivia]].<ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=122230 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, ''Mauritia flexuosa'']</ref>
'''''Mauritia flexuosa''''', known as the '''moriche palm''', ''ité'' palm, ''ita'', ''buriti'', ''muriti'', ''miriti'' (Brazil), ''canangucho'' (Colombia), ''morete or acho'' (Ecuador), or ''aguaje'' (Peru), is a [[Arecaceae|palm]] tree. It grows in and near [[swamps]] and other wet areas in tropical [[South America]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=122230|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|website=Wcsp.science.kew.org|access-date=23 March 2022}}</ref>


''Mauritia flexuosa'', a tree, can reach up to {{convert|35|m|abbr=on}} in height. The large leaves form a rounded crown. The flowers are yellowish and appear from December to April. The fruit, which grows from December to June, is a chestnut color and is covered with shiny scales. The yellow flesh covers a hard, oval nut. The seeds float, and this is the means by which the palm tree propagates. In natural populations, the tree reaches very high densities.<ref>http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/b_fdi_43-44/010005452.pdf</ref>
''Mauritia flexuosa'', a tree, can reach up to {{convert|35|m|abbr=on}} in height. The large leaves form a rounded crown. The flowers are yellowish and appear from December to April. The fruit, which grows from December to June, is a chestnut color and is covered with shiny scales. The yellow flesh covers a hard, oval nut. The seeds float, and this is the means by which the palm tree propagates. In natural populations, the tree reaches very high densities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/b_fdi_43-44/010005452.pdf|title=Ecology of Economically Important Palms in Peruvian Amazonia|author=Francis Kahn|website=Horizon.documentation.ird.fr|access-date=23 March 2022}}</ref>


==Fruit==
==Fruit==
[[File:Mauritia flexuosa MHNT.BOT.2005.0.974.jpg|left|thumb|144x144px|Fruits.]]
[[File:Mauritia flexuosa MHNT.BOT.2005.0.974.jpg|left|thumb|144x144px|Fruits]]
Moriche palm fruit ("morete" in the [[Oriente (Ecuador)|Oriente]] of Ecuador) is edible and used to make juice, jam, ice cream, a fermented "[[wine]]", desserts and snacks, requiring harvesting of more than 50 [[tonne]]s per day in [[Peru]].<ref name=peru/>
Moriche palm fruit ("morete" in the [[Oriente (Ecuador)|Oriente]] of Ecuador) is edible and used to make juice, jam, ice cream, a fermented "[[wine]]", desserts and snacks, requiring harvesting of more than 50 [[tonne]]s per day in [[Peru]].<ref name=peru/>


The [[inflorescence]] [[bud]]s are eaten as a vegetable and the sap can be drunk fresh or fermented (see [[palm wine]]). Threads and cords are locally produced from the tree's fibers.
The [[inflorescence]] [[bud]]s are eaten as a vegetable and the sap can be drunk fresh or fermented (see [[palm wine]]). Threads and cords are locally produced from the tree's fibers.


Humans consume palm [[weevil]]s which burrow in the tree trunk.<ref name=peru/>
Humans consume palm weevil larvae (''[[Rhynchophorus palmarum]]'') which burrow in the tree trunk.<ref name=peru/>


==Oil==
==Oil==
Buriti oil is an orange-reddish oil extracted from the fruit of the moriche palm. The oil contains high concentrations of [[oleic acid]], [[tocopherols]], and [[carotenoids]], especially [[beta-carotene]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[European Polymer Journal]]|year=2006|volume=42|issue=12|pages=3324–32|url=http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18336612|title=Absorption and photoluminescence of Buriti oil/polystyrene and Buriti oil/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends|authors=Duraes JA|display-authors=etal}}</ref> The oil has a reddish color used as ink on hides and skins.<ref>PESCE, Celestino. Oleaginosas da Amazonia.-Belém: Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, 2009. 334 p.: il. {{ISBN|978-85-61377-06-9}} (MPEG) e 978-85-60548-39-2 (MDA)</ref>
Buriti oil is an orange-reddish oil extracted from the fruit of the moriche palm. The oil contains high concentrations of [[oleic acid]], [[tocopherols]], and [[carotenoids]], especially [[beta-carotene]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[European Polymer Journal]]|year=2006|volume=42|issue=12|pages=3324–32|url=http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18336612|title=Absorption and photoluminescence of Buriti oil/polystyrene and Buriti oil/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends|vauthors=Duraes JA|doi=10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2006.09.012|display-authors=etal}}</ref> The oil has a reddish color used as ink on hides and skins.<ref>PESCE, Celestino. Oleaginosas da Amazonia.-Belém: Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, 2009. 334 p.: il. {{ISBN|978-85-61377-06-9}} (MPEG) e 978-85-60548-39-2 (MDA)</ref> Batana oil, also derived from Mauritia flexuosa, is a similar oil extract with multi-purpose use.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-06 |title=How Is Batana Oil Made? |url=https://batanababe.com/blogs/guide/how-is-batana-oil-made |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Batana Babe ™ |language=en}}</ref>


==Ecology==
==Ecology==
This tree is important to many animal species; several bird species, such as the [[red-bellied macaw]], [[sulphury flycatcher]], and [[moriche oriole]], use it for nesting and food. [[Tapir]]s, [[peccary|peccaries]], fish and monkeys depend on the fruit.<ref name="peru">{{cite web|url=http://assets.wwf.ch/downloads/aguaje_wwf_peru.pdf|title=The amazing palm tree of the Amazon|publisher=Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana|year=2006}}</ref>
This tree is important to many animal species; several bird species, such as the [[red-bellied macaw]], [[sulphury flycatcher]], and [[moriche oriole]], use it for nesting and food. [[Tapir]]s, [[peccary|peccaries]], fish and monkeys depend on the fruit.<ref name="peru">{{cite web|url=http://assets.wwf.ch/downloads/aguaje_wwf_peru.pdf|title=The amazing palm tree of the Amazon|publisher=Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana|year=2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227084343/http://assets.wwf.ch/downloads/aguaje_wwf_peru.pdf|archive-date=2012-02-27|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Flores fechadas Buriti 02.JPG|left|thumb|Male [[Inflorescence|inflorescences]].]]
[[File:Flores fechadas Buriti 02.JPG|left|thumb|Male [[inflorescence]]s.]]
[[Alexander von Humboldt]] documented the tree and the ecosystem it supports in 1800 when traveling through the [[Llanos Region, Venezuela|Llanos]] region of [[Venezuela]]. He "observed with astonishment how many things are connected with the existence of a single plant." He called it the "tree of life" and essentially described it as a [[keystone species]] although the concept would not be explicitly defined until 1969 by [[Robert T. Paine (zoologist)|Robert T. Paine.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Invention-Nature-Alexander-Humboldts-World/dp/038535066X|title=The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World: Andrea Wulf: 9780385350662: Amazon.com: Books|website=www.amazon.com|access-date=2016-12-23}}</ref>
[[Alexander von Humboldt]] documented the tree and the ecosystem it supports in 1800 when traveling through the [[Llanos]] region of [[Venezuela]]. He "observed with astonishment how many things are connected with the existence of a single plant." He called it the "tree of life" and essentially described it as a [[keystone species]] although the concept would not be explicitly defined until 1969 by [[Robert T. Paine (zoologist)|Robert T. Paine.]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World: Andrea Wulf: 9780385350662: Amazon.com: Books|isbn=978-0385350662|last1=Wulf|first1=Andrea|year=2015}}</ref>


==Miscellaneous==
==Miscellaneous==
The government of the [[Federal District (Brazil)|Federal District]] - the [[States of Brazil|Brazilian state]] where the country's capital, [[Brasília]], is located - is called ''Palácio do Buriti'' ("Buriti Palace"). Across the street from the building is a [[Town square|square]] with fountains and a single moriche palm tree, which was taken from the outskirts of the city and replanted there. The species is a common feature of the [[cerrado]] vegetation that predominates in [[Central-West Region, Brazil|central Brazil]].{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
The government of the [[Federal District (Brazil)|Federal District]] – the [[States of Brazil|Brazilian state]] where the country's capital, [[Brasília]], is located – is called ''Palácio do Buriti'' ("Buriti Palace"). Across the street from the building is a [[Town square|square]] with fountains and a single moriche palm tree, which was taken from the outskirts of the city and replanted there. The species is a common feature of the [[cerrado]] vegetation that predominates in [[Central-West Region, Brazil|central Brazil]].{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

==References ==
==References ==
[[File:Moriche Palms (Mauritia flexuosa) on Comté River ... (25055479137).jpg|thumb|A ''Mauritia flexuosa'' stand in [[French Guiana]].|249x249px]]{{Reflist}}
[[File:Moriche Palms (Mauritia flexuosa) on Comté River ... (25055479137).jpg|thumb|A ''Mauritia flexuosa'' stand in [[French Guiana]].|249x249px]]
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Commons category inline|Mauritia flexuosa}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Mauritia flexuosa}}


{{Taxonbar|from=Q1016320}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1016320}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Mauritia|flexuosa]]
[[Category:Mauritia|flexuosa]]
[[Category:Flora of South America]]
[[Category:Flora of Southern America]]
[[Category:Trees of Brazil]]
[[Category:Trees of Brazil]]
[[Category:Trees of Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Trees of Trinidad and Tobago]]

Latest revision as of 01:52, 9 January 2024

Mauritia flexuosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Mauritia
Species:
M. flexuosa
Binomial name
Mauritia flexuosa
Synonyms[1]
  • Mauritia flexuosa var. venezuelana Steyerm.
  • Mauritia minor Burret
  • Mauritia sagus Schult. & Schult.f.
  • Mauritia setigera Griseb. & H.Wendl.
  • Mauritia sphaerocarpa Burret
  • Mauritia vinifera Mart.
  • Saguerus americanus H.Wendl.

Mauritia flexuosa, known as the moriche palm, ité palm, ita, buriti, muriti, miriti (Brazil), canangucho (Colombia), morete or acho (Ecuador), or aguaje (Peru), is a palm tree. It grows in and near swamps and other wet areas in tropical South America.[2]

Mauritia flexuosa, a tree, can reach up to 35 m (115 ft) in height. The large leaves form a rounded crown. The flowers are yellowish and appear from December to April. The fruit, which grows from December to June, is a chestnut color and is covered with shiny scales. The yellow flesh covers a hard, oval nut. The seeds float, and this is the means by which the palm tree propagates. In natural populations, the tree reaches very high densities.[3]

Fruit[edit]

Fruits

Moriche palm fruit ("morete" in the Oriente of Ecuador) is edible and used to make juice, jam, ice cream, a fermented "wine", desserts and snacks, requiring harvesting of more than 50 tonnes per day in Peru.[4]

The inflorescence buds are eaten as a vegetable and the sap can be drunk fresh or fermented (see palm wine). Threads and cords are locally produced from the tree's fibers.

Humans consume palm weevil larvae (Rhynchophorus palmarum) which burrow in the tree trunk.[4]

Oil[edit]

Buriti oil is an orange-reddish oil extracted from the fruit of the moriche palm. The oil contains high concentrations of oleic acid, tocopherols, and carotenoids, especially beta-carotene.[5] The oil has a reddish color used as ink on hides and skins.[6] Batana oil, also derived from Mauritia flexuosa, is a similar oil extract with multi-purpose use.[7]

Ecology[edit]

This tree is important to many animal species; several bird species, such as the red-bellied macaw, sulphury flycatcher, and moriche oriole, use it for nesting and food. Tapirs, peccaries, fish and monkeys depend on the fruit.[4]

Male inflorescences.

Alexander von Humboldt documented the tree and the ecosystem it supports in 1800 when traveling through the Llanos region of Venezuela. He "observed with astonishment how many things are connected with the existence of a single plant." He called it the "tree of life" and essentially described it as a keystone species although the concept would not be explicitly defined until 1969 by Robert T. Paine.[8]

Miscellaneous[edit]

The government of the Federal District – the Brazilian state where the country's capital, Brasília, is located – is called Palácio do Buriti ("Buriti Palace"). Across the street from the building is a square with fountains and a single moriche palm tree, which was taken from the outskirts of the city and replanted there. The species is a common feature of the cerrado vegetation that predominates in central Brazil.[citation needed]

References[edit]

A Mauritia flexuosa stand in French Guiana.
  1. ^ "Mauritia flexuosa L.f. — the Plant List". Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  2. ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". Wcsp.science.kew.org. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ Francis Kahn. "Ecology of Economically Important Palms in Peruvian Amazonia" (PDF). Horizon.documentation.ird.fr. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "The amazing palm tree of the Amazon" (PDF). Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-27.
  5. ^ Duraes JA, et al. (2006). "Absorption and photoluminescence of Buriti oil/polystyrene and Buriti oil/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends". European Polymer Journal. 42 (12): 3324–32. doi:10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2006.09.012.
  6. ^ PESCE, Celestino. Oleaginosas da Amazonia.-Belém: Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, 2009. 334 p.: il. ISBN 978-85-61377-06-9 (MPEG) e 978-85-60548-39-2 (MDA)
  7. ^ "How Is Batana Oil Made?". Batana Babe ™. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  8. ^ Wulf, Andrea (2015). The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World: Andrea Wulf: 9780385350662: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 978-0385350662.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauritia_flexuosa&oldid=1194448416"