Bactris corossilla H.Karst.

  • Authority

    Henderson, A. 2000. (Palmae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 79: 1-181. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Arecaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Bactris corossilla H.Karst.

  • Type

    Type. Venezuela. Carabobo: Puerto Cabello, s.d., H. Karsten s.n. (holotype, W, destroyed; F neg 31312). Venezuela. Carabobo: La Justa, 10° 17' N, 68° 10' W, 220-650 m, 18-19 May 1991, W Diaz & R. Calderon 321 (neotype, here designated, NY).

  • Synonyms

    Bactris cuesco Engl., Bactris duidae Steyerm., Bactris venezuelensis Steyerm., Bactris duplex H.E.Moore

  • Description

    Species Description - Stems usually cespitose and sometimes forming dense clumps, occasionally solitary, (l-)2-4(-6) m tall, l-3(-4) cm diam., spiny on internodes. Leaves 5-12; leaf spines clustered, black or dark brown, terete, to 5 cm long, usually dense on sheath and adaxial surfaces of petiole, occasionally absent; sheath 20-70 cm long, sheath, petiole, and rachis green, not or scarcely tomentose; ocrea to 20 cm long, entire and persistent; petiole 20-80 cm long; rachis 0.4-1.1 m long; blade simple and bifid, or pinnate with 3-18 pinnae per side, the apical one usually broad, irregularly arranged in clusters, spreading in different planes, linear to sigmoid, aristate, with prominent veins; blade 0.6-2 m long, 23-34 cm wide at apex of rachis, middle pinnae of pinnate leaves 40-50 × 3-5 cm. Inflorescences interfoliar; peduncle 11-25 cm long, recurved, spiny; prophyll 10-20 cm long; peduncular bract 18-40 cm long, sulcate abaxially, densely spiny with more or less spreading, flexuous, soft, brown spines; rachis 1-5 cm long; rachillae 4-14, 713 cm long, with prominent staminate flower bracteoles, at anthesis densely covered with flexuous, brown trichomes; triads irregularly arranged among paired or solitary staminate flowers, the bracteoles prominent; staminate flowers 5-6 mm long; sepal lobes 1.5-2 mm long; petals 5-6 mm long; stamens 6; pistillode small; pistillate flowers 5-6 mm long; calyx tubular, 5-6 mm long; corolla tubular, 3-4 mm long, glabrous or occasionally minutely spinulose; staminodes absent, fruits 2-2.5 × 1.7-2 cm, depressed-globose to obovoid, prominently rostrate, green becoming yellow and then purple-black; mesocarp thin; endocarp turbinate, the sterile pores slightly displaced longitudinally; endocarp fibers free, numerous, without juice sacs attached; fruiting perianth with small, 3-lobed calyx and longer, 3-lobed corolla, without staminodial ring.

  • Discussion

    Bactris corossilla is diagnosed by its entire and persistent ocrea to 20 cm long, depressed-globose to obovoid, prominently rostrate fruits 2-2.5 × 1.7-2 cm that mature green, yellow, and then purple-black, and endocarp fibers without juice sacs attached. Synonymy was established by Wessels Boer (1988) and Henderson (1995). The holotype is destroyed, and I have therefore designated a neotype.

    This is an extremely heterogeneous species as here conceived, with an unlikely distribution, and it may eventually be split into several taxa. Specimens from the Venezuelan Andes are medium-sized plants with simple or pinnate leaves. When the leaves are pinnate, the apical pinna is much wider than the others. Plants from the Venezuelan Amazon region are smaller and usually have simple leaves and those from the Colombian Amazon are smaller still. Some specimens from Peru and adjacent Ecuador are much larger than the normal, with pinnate leaves and larger fruits. In some respects these approach Bactris fissifrons; other specimens from the Brazilian Amazon seem to approach B. macroacantha. A specimen from Peru, Moore et al 8515 (cited above) appears to be B. corossilla, but the fruits resemble those of B. macroacantha. These three species (B. corossilla, B. fissifrons, B. macroacantha) may be more closely related than previously thought, although they were placed in three different clades by Sanders (1991). Some specimens cited above (Balslev et al. 60515, Balslev et al. 62039, Vásquez & Jaramillo 12762, Henderson et al. 820) were included by Henderson (1995) under Bactris maraja var. juruensis. These, plus a few others (Balslev et al. 60737, Balslev 62470, Bergmann et al. 97810), are smaller palms with pinnate leaves, and may also represent a distinct taxon. One specimen, not cited above (Colombia. Meta: Mun. Vista Hermosa, Río Sardinatas, Serranía de la Macarena, 600 m, 2 Feb 1985, Henderson et al. 114 (COL, NY)) may be a hybrid with some other species (possibly B. maraja).

    Distribution and Ecology: Coastal range, Andes, and adjacent regions of Venezuela (Apure, Carabobo, Mérida, Táchira) and Colombia (Norte de Santander), south to the western Amazon region in Colombia (Amazonas, Meta, Vaupés), Venezuela (Amazonas, Bolívar), Ecuador (Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Sucumbios), Peru (Amazonas, Loreto, Ucayali), and Brazil (Acre, Amazonas) (Fig. 2IB); lowland to montane rain forest on well-drained slopes, at 100-1400 m elevation.

  • Common Names

    marajá, coquito, cuparu, kamancha, ñejilla, du, juduaro, macanillo

  • Distribution

    Colombia South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Apure Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Carabobo Venezuela South America| Mérida Venezuela South America| Táchira Venezuela South America| Ecuador South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Pastaza Ecuador South America| Sucumbíos Ecuador South America|