Palm trees of the Amazon and their uses

Chapter 59: PLATE XLIII. Astrocaryum aculeatum? Meyer.

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About This Book

The work surveys numerous Amazonian palm species through detailed descriptions and forty-eight plates, focusing on morphological characters—stems, roots, leaves, inflorescences, and fruit—to aid identification. The author records native names and documents how local peoples employ palms for food, fibers, brooms, oils, and building materials, while noting variation in form and habitat distribution. Botanical remarks on genera, species distinctions, and geographic range accompany personal field observations and practical uses. Several taxa are illustrated from original drawings and compared with specimens in botanical collections to support accurate identification and application.

PLATE XLIII.
Astrocaryum aculeatum? Meyer.

Marayá, Lingoa Geral.

This small species has the stem from fifteen to twenty feet high and about two inches in diameter, with obscure rings of spines at irregular intervals. The leaves are terminal, rather large and regularly pinnate. The leaflets are narrow, rigid and scarcely drooping, with the terminal pair broader. The midrib and leaflets are smooth, but the bases and sheaths of the petioles are very prickly.

The spadices grow from below the leaves and are very small and simply branched. The spathes are small, ovate, swollen, erect, persistent and very prickly. The trees were not found in fruit.

This tree agrees pretty well with Dr. Martius’ description of A. aculeatum. It grows in the virgin forest of the Upper Rio Negro.

Pl. XLIV.

W. Fitch lith. Ford & West Imp.

ASTROCARYUM ACAULE Ht. 9 Ft.