Euterpe catinga Wallace
-
Authority
Henderson, A. & Galeano, Gloria A. 1996.
, , and (Palmae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 72: 1-90. (Published by NYBG Press) -
Family
Arecaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Description
Species Description - Stems cespitose with a few stems forming a clump, or only 1 stem developed with basal shoots, or solitary, erect, 4-16 m tall, 3.5-15 cm diam., gray, with a cone of brown or reddish roots at the base, these 0.2-1 m long and 1-1.5 cm diam. Leaves 5-10, spreading; sheath 0.4-1 m long including a 1-2(-9) cm ligule, orange or reddish, green, yellowish green, bluish green or with a bluish glaucous bloom, often with scales, sometimes with a mass of black, elongate, flimsy scales apically (this the abaxial covering of the youngest, folded pinnae which peels off as the leaf unfolds); petiole 0-45 cm long, densely covered adaxially with black or reddish brown, raised, ramenta-like scales, abaxially with fewer scales, these mostly toward the margins, or almost glabrous; rachis 1.2-2.5 m long, densely to moderately covered with scales like those of petiole; pinnae 33-75 per side, ± horizontally spreading or somewhat pendulous, subopposite, coriaceous, with a few scales on abaxial surface, the midvein prominent with 2 lateral veins either side, the veins with prominent, brown ramenta abaxially, with scattered to numerous punctations abaxially; basal pinna 0.3-1 m x 0.3-2 cm; middle pinnae 35-84 x 1.5-4.5 cm; apical pinna 23-31 x 0.6-2 cm. Inflorescences infrafoliar; ± horizontal at anthesis; peduncle 6-14 cm long; prophyll 0.5-1 m long; peduncular bract 46-90 cm long, without an umbo; rachis 20-45 cm long; rachillae 48-150, 35-75 cm long, 2.5-4 mm diam. at anthesis, arranged all round the rachis, densely covered with 0.1 mm long, stiff, branched hairs; flowers in triads almost to the ends of the rachillae, paired or solitary staminate distally; triad bracteole prominent, apiculate, to 1 mm long; first flower bracteole obscure, second and third flower bracteoles prominent, unequal, the larger one to 1.5 mm long; staminate flowers 3-4 mm long; sepals very widely ovate, 1.5-3 mm long, broadly imbricate, slightly keeled, minutely ciliate; petals ovate, 2.5-3 mm long; stamens arranged on a short receptacle; filaments 1-2 mm long; anthers 1.7-2 mm long; pistillode 1-2 mm long, trifid at apex; pistillate flowers 2-5 mm long; sepals widely ovate, 2-3.5 mm long; petals widely ovate, 2-4 mm long; fruits globose or depressed-globose, 0.8-1.3 cm diam., stigmatic remains subapical to lateral; epicarp purple-black or reddish brown, minutely tuberculate; seeds globose; endosperm homogeneous; eophyll bifid.
-
Discussion
This complex species is difficult taxonomically and still poorly understood. At low elevations in the western Amazon region, plants are rather uniform and are characterized by orange crownshafts usually with a mass of flimsy scales at the apex, horizontally spreading pinnae, and slender rachillae with small, purple-black fruits. Similar plants occur at high elevations on tepuis in the western part of the Guayana Highland. Other high-elevation populations, also in the western part, are vegetatively similar to the low-elevation form but have thicker rachillae with larger, reddish brown fruits. These plants occur together with a very common and quite variable high-elevation form which also occurs throughout the Guayana Highland, with green crownshafts, no flimsy scales, pendulous pinnae, thicker rachillae, and larger reddish brown or purple-black fruits. The situation is further complicated by similar forms occurring in the Andes.
We have divided these two forms into two varieties; the extremes are quite distinct but intermediates blur the separation. An argument could be made that the two extreme forms are distinct species and the intermediates are hybrids, but we feel that there is insufficient information to support this hypothesis.