Bactris oligoclada Burret, Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 11: 325 (1932)

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Distribution

Map uses TDWG level 3 distributions (https://github.com/tdwg/wgsrpd)
Guyana present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)A
Venezuela present (World Checklist of Arecaceae)A
Northeastern Amazon region in Venezuela (Bolívar) and Guyana.

Habitat

  • Lowland rain forest on sandy soils (wallaba forest) on terra firme at 0-780 m elevation.

Discussion

  • Bactris oligoclada is diagnosed by its widely scattered, black, somewhat flattened, to 7 cm long leaf spines, and 6-10, lanceolate to almost sigmoid, asymmetrically acuminate pinnae per side, dark green adaxially and lighter green (drying brown) abaxially.

Common Name

  • Guyana: kidallibanaro, sourie, yurua.

Description

  • Stems cespitose, 1-3 m tall, 1-1.5 cm diam., or occasionally short and subterranean, spiny or not spiny on internodes. Leaves 3-12; leaf spines widely scattered, black, somewhat flattened, to 7 cm long, on lateral surfaces of sheath and petiole; sheath 15-22 cm long, partially closed; ocrea to 3 cm long; petiole 25-55 cm long; rachis 35-45 cm long; pinnae 6-10 per side, irregularly arranged in distant clusters, spreading in different planes, lanceolate to almost sigmoid, asymmetrically acuminate, dark green adaxially, lighter green (drying brown) abaxially, main vein prominent adaxially; middle pinnae 20-32 x 3-6 cm. Inflorescences interfoliar; peduncle 7-11 cm long, recurved, not spiny; prophyll 3.5-9 cm long; peduncular bract 12-18 cm long, densely covered with short, black spines; rachis 1-2 cm long; rachillae 6-8, 5-8 cm long, at anthesis densely covered with brown, flexuous trichomes; triads irregularly arranged among paired or solitary staminate flowers; staminate flowers 4-4.5 mm long; sepal lobes 1.5 mm long; petals 4-4.5 mm long; stamens 6; pistillode absent; pistillate flowers 3 mm long; calyx annular, 0.5 mm long; corolla tubular, 3 mm long; staminodes absent; fruits 1-1.5 cm diam., depressed-globose, yellow or orange-red at maturity, but green then whitish and yellowish during ripening; mesocarp starchy; endocarp pitted, the sterile pores displaced longitudinally; endocarp fibers few or lacking; fruiting perianth with small calyx and small 3-lobed corolla, without staminodial ring.

Bibliography

    A. World Checklist of Arecaceae