Euterpe precatoria
Euterpe precatoria is a South American species of palm. There are two different varieties.
Features
The palm trees are single-stemmed or multi-stemmed, but then with a few strains. The stems are erect, 3 to 20 m high with a diameter of 4 to 23 cm. The surface is gray at the base, there is a cone of roots.
The crown consists of 5 to 10 leaves, rarely to 20 you are spread out, sometimes slightly arched. The leaf sheaths are 0.5 to 1.6 m long, green, striped bright, or yellow. The petiole is 12-57 cm long, rarely missing. The rachis is 1.6 to 3.6 m long, sitting on either side of 43-91 leaflets, the lightly or heavily hang or stand horizontally. The midrib is evident on each side are 1-2 lateral veins. The lowermost leaves is 46-70 cm long, the middle 60 to 88 cm and the Endfiederchen 18 to 44 cm.
The inflorescences are flowering more or less horizontal. To fruit maturity they are more continuous. The inflorescence stalk is 4-15 cm long, the cover sheet 22 to 85 cm long and up to 6 cm wide. The bract on the inflorescence stem is 23-80 cm long and 8-10 cm wide. Distal to it, there are often some smaller bracts. The inflorescence axis is from 20 to 94 cm long. The up to 200 Branches are 16 to 80 inches long at the base of the inflorescence, at the top 18-58 cm. The flowers are in the lower range in triads, in the upper male flowers are in pairs or individually.
The male flowers are 3.5 to 5 mm long. The sepals are broadly oval, 2-3 mm long, keeled and ciliate. The petals are lanceolate, 3-5 mm long. The stamens are on a short receptaculum. The filaments are 1 to 2.5 mm long, 2 mm anthers. The stamp rudiment is 1.5 to 3 mm long and at the head of deep -lobed. The female flowers are 2.5 to 4.5 mm long. The sepals are broadly oval, 3 mm long, rather bald and ciliated. The petals are broadly oval and 4 mm long.
The fruit is spherical with a diameter from 0.9 to 1.3 cm. The scars radicals on the side of the fruit. The exocarp is occupied purple -black and with small humps. The seeds are spherical, the endosperm is homogeneous. The primary leaf is pinnate with a very short rachis.
Variety precatoria
The strains of the variety precatoria are always individually. The middle leaflets is 1-2 cm wide and has on each side of the midrib a lateral vein, and is clearly continuous. The inflorescences are larger and the side branches with 4-6 mm thicker than the second variety. The sepals of the male and female flowers are hairy clearly on the outside and dry white.
The variety is found in the lowlands of the Amazon Basin: Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guyanas, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. It grows in lowland rainforest, often along rivers intermittently flooded sites, usually below 350 m above sea level. They rarely rises to 600m.
From the fruits of a juice is obtained. The logs are used in house construction.
Variety longevaginata
The variety Euterpe precatoria var longevaginata ( Mart. ) Henderson was downgraded in 1995 by the status of a separate type for variety of Euterpe precatoria. The stems are single or multiple. The average leaflets is 2 to 3 cm wide, and has on each side of the central rib has two lateral wires, and is more or less continuous. The inflorescences are smaller and the side branches are equipped with 3 ( rarely 4 ) mm thinner than the other variety. The sepals of male and female flowers are not significantly haired on the outside and 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 in wooded mountain slopes and back, also in the lowlands, from 0 to 2000 m above sea level. The palm heart is eaten rare.
Documents
- 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 )
- Palmaceus
- Arecaceae