Astrocaryum murumuru Mart.
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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.
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Family
Arecaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Medium sized to tall, single stemmed plants, the trunk unarmed, 3-15 m x 15-27 cm with a few suckers at base and tuft of persistent dead leaf sheaths along upper part, the internodes 4-15 cm long. Leaves 10-20 ± in funnel shaped crown; petiole (including sheath) very fibrous at margins, 2- 3 m long, brown-red, shiny and concave adaxially, grayishgreen lepidote and rounded abaxially, densely armed with black, flattened, spines, to 30 cm long; rachis 4-6.2 m long, spiny; pinnae 50-135 per side, straight, linear-lanceolate, with spines to 1 cm long on margins, 21-175 X 1.5-7.5 cm, the apical segments sometimes wider (to 10 cm). Inflorescences 1-3 per plant, at first erect, then curved, sometimes ± pendulous in fruit; peduncle robust, whitish turning pale brown, floccose, densely spiny on distal part, glabrous basally, 0.8-1.7 m long, elliptic in transverse section; prophyll 75-130 cm long, densely dark-brown setose, with scattered small black spines to 3 cm long; peduncular bract 65-150 cm long, inserted at 1/2-2/3 distance from base of peduncle, fusiform, floccose, densely covered by brown setae, intermixed toward apex with black spines to 2.5 cm long; rachis 30-70 cm long, bearing many rachillae (100-200) 8-20 cm long. Fruits obovoid to turbinate, grayish-brown tomentose, setose, 5-8.5 X 3-4.4 cm, with endocarp fleshy at maturity, 6-10 mm thick, edible. Fl, fr (irregularly year round);
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Distribution
Occurs in swamp forest on alluvial soils; rare in the interior of French Guiana, mostly known from the Clique Cochon valley in the vicinity of Saul.
French Guiana South America|