Oenocarpus | |
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Oenocarpus distichus illustration circa 1890 [1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Subfamily: | Arecoideae |
Tribe: | Euterpeae |
Genus: | Oenocarpus Mart. |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Oenocarpus is a genus of pinnate-leaved palms (Arecaceae) native to Trinidad, southern Central and tropical South America. [3] [4] With nine species and one natural hybrid, the genus is distributed from Costa Rica and Trinidad in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south.
Common names in their native range are bacaba in Brazil, and palma milpesos (or just milpesos) in Spanish-speaking countries. These terms may also refer to the best-known member of this genus, O. bacaba , but more precise common names exist for that species.
The fruit of Oenocarpus palms are food for various animals, such as the green aracari ( Pteroglossus viridis ) for which O. bacaba fruit are a mainstay food. They are also locally eaten by humans, and these palms are also used in folk medicine. Their wood is useful for handicraft and the fruits can also be used to produce oil, which is of excellent quality and was used as a substitute for olive oil during WW2.
The currently accepted species of Oenocarpus are: [2]
Attalea maripa, commonly called maripa palm is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It grows up 35 m (115 ft) tall and can have leaves or fronds 10–12 m (33–39 ft) long. This plant has a yellow edible fruit which is oblong ovoid and cream. An edible oil can be extracted from the pulp of the fruit and from the kernel of the seed.
Aiphanes is a genus of spiny palms which is native to tropical regions of South and Central America and the Caribbean. There are about 26 species in the genus, ranging in size from understorey shrubs with subterranean stems to subcanopy trees as tall as 20 metres (66 ft). Most have pinnately compound leaves ; one species has entire leaves. Stems, leaves and sometimes even the fruit are covered with spines. Plants flower repeatedly over the course of their lifespan and have separate male and female flowers, although these are borne together on the same inflorescence. Although records of pollinators are limited, most species appear to be pollinated by insects. The fruit are eaten by several birds and mammals, including at least two species of amazon parrots.
Mabea is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described in 1775. It is native to Central and South America as well as Mexico and Trinidad.
Pouteria is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical Americas, with outlier species in Cameroon and Malesia. It includes the canistel, the mamey sapote, and the lucuma. Commonly, this genus is known as pouteria trees, or in some cases, eggfruits.
Oenocarpus bacaba is an economically important monoecious fruiting palm native to South America and the Amazon rainforest, which has edible fruits. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. It can reach up to 20–25 metres tall and 15–25 cm in diameter. It grows in well-drained sandy soils of the Amazon basin.
Desmoncus is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean.
Prestoea is a genus of palms native to the Caribbean, Central and South America. Its range extends from Nicaragua and the Greater Antilles in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south.
Eschweilera is a genus of woody plants in the family Lecythidaceae first described as a genus in 1828. It is native to southern Mexico, Central America, South America, and Trinidad.
Asterogyne is a genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae native to Central America and northern South America, with three of the five known species endemic to Venezuela.
Wettinia is a genus of flowering plants in the palm family Arecaceae. The genus, established in 1837, contains some 20 species, but more seem to await discovery considering that 4 species - W. aequatorialis, W. lanata, W. minima and W. panamensis - were described as late as 1995. The genus is broadly divided into two groups. One group has the fruits tightly packed, while the other, formerly classified as genus Catoblastus, has fruits scattered along the inflorescence branches. It is not known whether these groups are both monophyletic. The genus is named after Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, of the House of Wettin.
Micropholis is genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae, described in 1891.
Aegiphila is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1763. It was formerly classified in the Verbenaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, South America, the West Indies, and Florida.
Rhodospatha is a genus of plant in family Araceae. It is native to South America, Central America, and southern Mexico.
Desmoncus polyacanthos, the jacitara palm, is a spiny, climbing palm native to the southern Caribbean and tropical South America. Stems grow clustered together, and are 2–12 m long and 0.5–2 cm in diameter. Petioles, rachis, cirrus and peduncular bracts are covered with short, curved spines. Two varieties are recognised: D. polyacanthos var. polyacanthos and D. polyacanthos var. prunifer A.J.Hend.
Euterpe precatoria is a tall, slender-stemmed, pinnate-leaved palm native to Central and South America and Trinidad and Tobago. E. precatoria is used commercially to produce fruits, although Euterpe oleracea is more commonly cultivated due to its larger fruits.
Socratea is a genus of five species of palms found in tropical Central America and South America.
Pholidostachys is a genus of palms found in Central America and northwestern South America.
Oenocarpus bataua, the patawa, sehe, hungurahua (Ecuador) or mingucha, is a palm tree native to the Amazon rainforest. The tree produces edible fruits rich in high-quality oil.
Euterpe catinga is a palm species in the genus Euterpe. It is found in forests of a dry, sandy soil and very peculiar vegetation, known as catinga forests or Campinarana in northern South America.
Prestoea acuminata is a species of palm tree native to Central America, the West Indies and South America.