Euterpe precatoria
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Euterpe precatoria |
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| Mart. |
Euterpe precatoria is a South American species of palm . A distinction is made between two varieties.
features
The palms are single-stemmed or multi-stemmed, but then with a few trunks. The trunks are erect, 3 to 20 m high and 4 to 23 cm in diameter. The surface is gray, at the base there is a cone of roots.
The crown consists of 5 to 10 leaves , rarely up to 20. They are spread out, sometimes slightly curved. The leaf sheaths are 0.5 to 1.6 m long, green, lighter striped, or yellow. The petiole is 12 to 57 cm long, rarely absent. The rachis is 1.6 to 3.6 m long, on each side there are 43 to 91 leaflets that hang slightly or strongly or stand horizontally. The midrib is clear, with 1 to 2 lateral veins on each side. The lowest leaflet is 46 to 70 cm long, the middle 60 to 88 cm and the terminal leaflet 18 to 44 cm.
The inflorescences are more or less horizontal to flowering. When the fruit is ripe, they tend to hang. The inflorescence stalk is 4 to 15 cm long, the cover sheet is 22 to 85 cm long and up to 6 cm wide. The bract on the peduncle is 23 to 80 cm long and 8 to 10 cm wide. Distal to this there are often a few smaller bracts. The inflorescence axis is 20 to 94 cm long. The up to 200 side branches are 16 to 80 cm long at the base of the inflorescence and 18 to 58 cm at the top. The flowers are in triads in the lower area, in the upper area there are male flowers in pairs or individually.
The male flowers are 3.5 to 5 mm long. The sepals are broadly oval, 2 to 3 mm long, keeled and ciliate. The petals are lanceolate, 3 to 5 mm long. The stamens are attached to a short receptacle. The stamens are 1 to 2.5 mm long, the anthers 2 mm. The rudiment of the stamp is 1.5 to 3 mm long and deeply three-lobed at the tip. The female flowers are 2.5 to 4.5 mm long. The sepals are broadly oval, 3 mm long, rather glabrous and ciliate. The petals are broadly oval and 4 mm long.
The fruit is spherical with a diameter of 0.9 to 1.3 cm. The scar remains are on the side of the fruit. The exocarp is purple-black and has small humps. The seeds are spherical, the endosperm is homogeneous. The primary leaf is pinnate with a very short rhachis.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 36.
Variety precatoria
The strains of the variety Euterpe precatoria var. Precatoria are always single. The middle leaflet is 1 to 2 cm wide, has a lateral vein on each side of the midrib and is clearly drooping. The inflorescences are larger and the side branches are 4 to 6 mm thicker than in the second variety. The sepals of the male and female flowers are clearly hairy on the outside and dry white.
The variety occurs in the lowland regions of the Amazon basin: Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guyanas, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. It grows in the lowland rainforest, often along rivers in temporarily flooded locations, usually below 350 m above sea level. It rarely rises up to 600 m.
A juice is obtained from the fruits. The logs are used in house building.
Variety longevaginata
The variety Euterpe precatoria var. Longevaginata (Mart.) Henderson was downgraded from the status of a separate species to the variety of Euterpe precatoria in 1995 . The trunks are single or multiple. The middle leaflet is 2 to 3 cm wide, has two lateral veins on each side of the midrib and is more or less drooping. The inflorescences are smaller and the side branches are 3 (rarely 4) mm thinner than the other variety. The sepals of the male and female flowers are not clearly hairy on the outside and are dry brown.
The variety occurs in low and high altitudes in the Andes and Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. It grows on wooded mountain slopes and ridges, also in the lowlands, from 0 to 2000 m above sea level. The palm heart is rarely eaten.
literature
- Andrew Henderson, Gloria Galeano: Euterpe, Prestoea, and Neonicholsonia (Palmae: Euterpeinae) . Flora Neotropica, Volume 72, New York Botanical Garden Press, New York 1996, pp. 1-90. (JSTOR)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Euterpe precatoria at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
