Socratea rostrata Burret
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Authority
Henderson, A. 1990. Arecaceae. Part I. Introduction and the Iriarteinae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 53: 1-100. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Arecaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Ecuador. Pastaza: Mera, ca. 1000 m, 11 Sep 1938, Schultze-Rhonhof 2805 (holotype, B).
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Description
Species Description - Stem cylindrical, to 25 m tall, 10-13 cm in diam. at base, ca. 11 cm in diam. at apex, smooth, gray; stilt roots 15-26, diagonal, terete, widely spaced and forming a loose cone to 4 m long and 2 m in diam. at base, 2-4 m x 5-8 cm, brown or black, with spines up to 1 cm long, branching at or below ground level. Leaves 4-7, spreading; sheaths forming a crownshaft often swollen at the base by presence of inflorescence bud. 130-165 cm long, bluish-gray, sparsely covered with caducous, closely appressed, hyaline trichomes; petiole terete, 15-65 x ca. 4 cm, densely whitishor brownish-tomentose; rachis ridged adaxially, rounded abaxially, 1.5-2.5 m long, densely brown-tomentose adaxially, densely white-tomentose abaxially; pinnae 21-25 per side of rachis, alternate to sub-opposite, asymmetrically cuneate with margins entire for most of their length then deeply and irregularly praemorse, to 90 cm long and 25 cm wide at mid-point, glabrous adaxially, glabrous abaxially except for dense brown trichomes on veins and at base and lines of dense white tomentum to 3 mm diam. running parallel to veins; middle pinnae split to the base into segments, the proximal segments of a pinna longest and narrowest and erect with arching apices, the distal one of a pinna shortest and widest and slightly pendulous; proximal pinna entire, 29-35 cm long, ca. 3 cm wide at midpoint; middle pinnae split into as many as ten segments, the proximal ones up to 90 cm long and 5 cm wide at mid-point, the distal one up to 60 cm long and 12 cm wide at mid-point; apical pinna entire, flabellate, deeply notched, up to 24 cm long and 12 cm wide at mid-point. Inflorescence up to 96 cm long at anthesis; peduncle dorsiventrally compressed, 20-26 cm long, ca. 8 cm in diam. at base, ca. 3 cm in diam. at apex, densely covered with early deciduous, long, loose, intertwined, white trichomes, with four complete bract scars; prophyll tubular, flattened, ancipitous, with acute apex, splitting apically and then adaxially, to 14 x 5 cm, inserted near base of peduncle, erect and semi-persistent; peduncular bracts three; the first to 30 cm long and similar to the prophyll and splitting adaxially; the second and third up to 50 cm long, oval in cross-section, inserted 2-4 cm above each other, splitting abaxially, with acute non-splitting apex up to 4 cm long, several incomplete or vestigial peduncular bracts of varying sizes above; prophyll and peduncular bracts coriaceous, with similar indument externally to that of peduncle; rachis 9 cm long, with similar tomentum to that of peduncle; rachillae 8-11, simple, spirally arranged, to 60 cm long, ca. 5 mm in diam. at midpoint at anthesis (dry), thickening in fruit to 68 mm in diam. (dry), each subtended by a vestigial bract; triads spirally arranged, surrounded by a very low bract with acute 1 mm point proximally; flowers proximally in triads, for distal ca. 5 cm staminate in pairs or solitary, cream colored; staminate flowers 10x15 mm, glabrous; calyx with three acute lobes up to 2 mm long; petals irregularly shaped and angled, 8-1.2 x 710 mm, fleshy; stamens 60-129 (most in proximal flowers, fewest in distal); filaments swollen at base, becoming acute, 1 mm long; anthers ba-sifixed, linear, latrorse, apiculate, 7 mm long; pistillode very small and only apparent in flowers with fewest stamens; pollen with scabrate, spiny exine; pistillate flowers 10 mm long; calyx 3-lobed, lobes rounded, 8 mm long, ciliate; petals very shortly connate below, imbricate, rounded, ciliate, 8 mm long; staminodes absent; ovary slightly pyramidal, 8 mm long, stigmas sessile, erect at anthesis, 1 mm long; fruit ellipsoid, rostrate, with stigmatic scar apical, to 3.5 x 2.5 cm; epicarp yellowish-green at maturity and splitting irregularly from the apex; mesocarp 5 mm in diam.; endocarp papery; seed ellipsoid, to 2.5 x 2 cm, basally attached; hilum rounded; raphe branches conspicuous, reticulate; embryo apical.
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Discussion
Palm hearts and young seeds occasionally eaten.
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Common Names
Chonta cade, Crespa, huagrachanga
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Distribution
Southern Colombia and Ecuador in lower montane forest between 1000 and 1400 m on eastern slopes of the Andes (Fig. 31).
Colombia South America| Caquetá Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Pastaza Ecuador South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America|