Bactris rhaphidacantha Wess.Boer
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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, single- or multi-stemmed plants of understory, with 1-3, almost inconspicuous, trunks, these sometimes to 1 m X 5-8 cm, unarmed or with rings of slightly flattened, soon deciduous, black spines 1-3 cm long, ringed by dense, prominent leaf scars, the internodes very short, 0.5-2 cm long. Leaves 8-15, large, obliquely erect and ± forming a funnel-shaped, litter-collecting crown like that of Astrocaryum; sheath 40-60 cm long, densely armed with terete, black spines 0.5-6 cm long; petiole 0.4-1 m long, terete, canaliculate above, brown-lepidote, unarmed or with scattered, erect, black spines to 12 cm long, these also on base of rachis; rachis 1.7-3 m long; blade pinnate, with 25-40 pinnae per side, pinnae straight, narrow, linear-lanceolate, 25-85 X 1-4.5 cm inserted at regular intervals on the rachis; segments of apical pair usually wider than others (2-8 cm). Inflorescences 1-3, interfoliar, congested at leaf bases; peduncle 6 -20 cm long, brown-lepidote and setose, strongly recurved; prophyll 6-17 cm long, strongly flattened, dark-brown arachnoid-tomentose; peduncular bract 20-35 cm long, densely covered with slender, ± appressed, black prickles 5-20 mm long; rachis 2-7 cm long, bearing many, slender rachillae 4 -8 cm long. Fruit globose, setose, 10-12 mm diam., densely congested, orange to bright red at maturity.
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Distribution
Fl, fr (year round); very common everywhere, but mostly on welldrained slopes. Ti-wara.
French Guiana South America|