Monographs Details:
Authority:

Mori, S. A., et al. 1997. Guide to the vascular plants of central French Guiana: Part 1. Pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 76: 1-422.
Family:

Arecaceae
Description:

Species Description - Small, stemless (or rarely short- and multi-stemmed) plants of understory, the stem, when present, to 50 cm X 7-15 mm, unarmed, the internodes 1-4 cm long. Leaves 5-9, erect and arching; sheath 7-25 cm long, fibrous, with or without a few black spines; petiole 0.3-1 m long; rachis 30-60 cm long, both petiole and rachis terete, canaliculate above, both green- to brown-lepidote and armed with black, erect spines 2-6 cm long; blade pinnate, with 5-12 pinnae per side; pinnae oblong-sigmoid, long caudate-acuminate, 10-30 X 2 -4 cm; distinctly clustered in alternate groups of 2 or 3; segments of apical pair much wider (5-8 cm). Inflorescences often several per plant, short, infrafoliar, erect, often barely visible; peduncle 10-20 cm long, moderately curved, brownsetose at apex; prophyll 4-12 cm long, membranous and glabrous; peduncular bract 11-25 cm long, the fusiform apical part 8-12 cm long, densely covered by pale-brown to black, slender, ± appressed prickles 3-12 mm long; spadix simple, 2-5 cm long, densely covered with yellow flowers at anthesis. Fruits few, densely aggregated, elliptic-ovoid, glabrous, 1.5-2 X 1-1.5 cm, with a large cupule at base, purplish black at maturity.

Distribution:

French Guiana South America|