Macauba palm
| Macauba palm | ||||||||||||
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Macauba palm in Argentina |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Acrocomia aculeata | ||||||||||||
| ( Jacq. ) Lodd. ex Mart. |
The Macauba palm ( Acrocomia aculeata ) (other names are: macaíba, boicaiuva, macaúva, coco-de-catarro, coco-baboso, coco-de-espinho or Grugru palm) is a tropical species of America from the palm family . It is particularly noticeable because of the numerous long and very pointed spines on the stem, on the leaf spindles and petioles.
description
Macauba palms usually do not grow taller than 10 to 12 meters, in Brazil up to 16 meters and in Puerto Rico up to 18 meters. The trunk is gray and reaches a diameter ( BHD ) of 35 centimeters (rarely up to 50 centimeters). Characteristic of the species are the thin, black spines arranged in a ring on the trunk, which are particularly common in the upper area of the trunk and are repelled in the lower area. The spines reach lengths of 5 to 7.5 centimeters, rarely up to 15 centimeters.
The crown consists of about 20 (up to 40) green and several brown, dry and soon sloping, leathery leaves 3 to 4 meters long. The lifespan of the leaves is about 2 years. They are divided into numerous narrow and tapering segments of up to 60 centimeters in length and only 6 millimeters in width. The top is glossy green, the underside dull blue-green. Petioles, rachis and young seedlings are also studded with spines.
The palm tree can bear flowers and fruit all year round. The main flowering time in Brazil is from mid-October to mid-November, in Costa Rica from April to May. It is pollinated by different species of beetles , self-fertilization is possible.
The Macauba palm is single sexed ( monoecia ). The panicle inflorescence has a length of 0.9 to 1.5 meters with a prickly stem. The male flowers are arranged in the tip area of the inflorescence and the female at the base. Individual panicles consist of up to 55 panicle branches and can carry up to 90,000 male and 650 female flowers. The male flowers are 7 millimeters long and have three small, egg-shaped sepals , a three-lobed corolla , six stamens attached to the tip of the corolla tube and a rudimentary pistil . The female flowers are 1 centimeter long and have scale-like sepals, three overlapping petals and three styles .
The ripe, lonely stone fruits are thrown off about a year after flowering . They have a diameter of 2.5 to 5 centimeters, a weight of around 24 grams, are greenish-yellow to brownish in color, round and pointed at the apex . Every year 100 to 200 fruits are formed, in exceptional cases up to 2000. The pulp ( mesocarp ) is fibrous and tastes sweet. It encloses a very hard stone core. When the fruit is ripe, the seeds are soft and gelatinous and only harden in the ground over the course of a further year. The thousand grain weight is about 9 kilograms.
The germination takes place hypogeous, then young seedlings develop at the base rung a swelling, emanating from the numerous white, rigid roots. After a year heights of 1 meter are reached. The growth of the species is slow to moderate.
Distribution and location requirements
The natural range of the species extends from Mexico and the West Indies over Bolivia and Paraguay to Brazil and Argentina . You don't find them in Ecuador or Peru .
The species prefers lower altitudes, but occurs in the Colombian Andes up to an altitude of 1200 meters. They are sensitive to shading, development is particularly favorable in open terrain, e.g. B. on pastures. The species tolerates saltwater spray and is rarely knocked over by the wind. Only repeated intense fires can injure the trunk and put the trees in danger.
Little is known about further location requirements. In Puerto Rico , the Macauba palm grows near the coast on sandy soils. B. with the Noni tree ( Morinda citrifolia ).
Systematics
The distribution of the species extends over a large area and led to great morphological variability, which led to the division into many regionally limited taxa (37 with species status, 1 variety). In the meantime only two species are differentiated in the genus, in addition to Acrocomia aculeata also Acrocomia hassleri (Barbosa Rodrigues) WJ Hahn. Possibly forming Acrocomia Totei a third kind.
Synonyms for the species are (selection): Acrocomia media , Acrocomia mexicana , Acrocomia vinifera , Acrocomia totai .
use
The seeds are edible and were a food for the indigenous people in Central America. Palm wine, fermented phloem juice from injured tribes, is also drunk. The high oil content of the fruits is used in South America to make soap. The hard wood of the trunk jacket is used for floorboards and for making walking sticks . Alfaiia drums are traditionally made from the hollowed trunk . The palm is also used in landscape maintenance.
The seeds used for oil production are also known under the common name Grugru nuts (or Gru Gru kernels).
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Macaúba Brazil. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on July 24, 2017 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Acrocomia aculeata. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ↑ Description in Flora of North America , accessed February 16, 2008.
- ^ Heinz A. Hoppe: Drug Science. Volume 1. Angiosperms. Walter de Gruyter Verlag, Berlin a. New York, 8th edition 1975. ISBN 3-11-003849-8 , on page 22.
- ^ Hans Hermann Julius Hager, Walther Kern (founder), Paul Heinz List, Hermann Josef Roth: Hagers Handbook of Pharmaceutical Practice. Second Volume, Chemicals and Drugs A-Al. Springer Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg, 4th edition 1969. ISBN 978-0-387-04511-5 . on page 1085.
literature
- Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Trees of the Tropics , 2006, ISBN 3-933203-79-1
Web links
- PACSOA: Acrocomia aculeata with multiple photos
- Project for Neotropical Fruits: Acrocomia aculeata