Bactris simplicifrons
Bactris (BAHK-triss) simplicifrons (sihm-PLIHS-ih-frohns) | |||||||
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Jenero Herrera, Peru. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Common and widespread throughout the Amazon region and adjacent areas in Colombia (Amazonas, Córdoba, Guainía, Vaupés), Venezuela (Amazonas, Bolívar), Trinidad and Tobago, the Guianas, Ecuador (Napo, Sucumbíos), Peru (Cusco, Huánuco, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Pasco, San Martfn, Ucayali), Brazil (Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima), and Bolivia (Beni , La Paz, Pando); lowland forest on terra firme, but also in open, sandy areas at both low and high (10-1800) m elevations.Description
Stems solitary or cespitose, 0.5-2 m tall, 0.3-1 cm in diam., erect or leaning, not spiny on internodes. Leaves 5-9 per crown; leaf spines absent except for apex of pinnae, or spines scattered, black, flattened, to 1.5 cm long, few to moderate on sheath and petiole; sheath 5-20 cm long, closed but not forming a crownshaft; ocrea to 2 cm long; petiole 5-26 cm long; rachis 8-25 cm long; blade typically simple and shaped like a whale's tail fin , the lobes 24-58 cm long, 1.5-15 cm wide, or oblanceolate, plicate, deeply bifid apically and cuneate basally, or leaf pinnate, the pinnae 2-6 (-20) per side, irregularly or regularly arranged, linear, linear-lanceolate or sigmoid, glabrous except for a few, small spines distally on margins, rarely sparsely and minutely spinulose or pilose abaxially; middle pinnae 10-33 x 1.5-15 cm. Inflorescences interfoliar but appearing infrafoliar because exserted through leaf sheath; peduncle 3-4 cm long, strongly recurved in fruit, not spiny; prophyll 3-7 cm long; peduncular bract 6-12 cm long, usually not spiny, glabrous, whitish or brownish tomentose, erect at anthesis and forming an angle of about 30° with stem; rachis 0-0.5 cm long; rachillae 1-2 (-3), 3-6 cm long, at anthes is pendulous, densely whitish brown-tomentose or almost glabrous; triads regularly arranged almost throughout rachilla(e); staminate flowers 3.5-4.5 mm long, deciduous; sepal lobes 1-1.5 mm long; petals 3-5 mm long; stamens 6; pistillode absent; pistillate flowers 2.5-5.5 mm long; calyx tubular, 2.5-5 mm long; corolla tubular, 2.5-5.5 mm long; staminodes absent; fruits 5-8 mm in diam., globose, rostrate, orange or red; mesocarp starchy; endocarp obovoid, longitudinally grooved, the pores equally spaced; endocarp fibers few or absent; fruiting perianth with deeply 3-lobed calyx as long as the deeply 3-lobed corolla, without staminodial ring. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.
Bactris simplicifrons is diagnosed by its 1-2 (-3) rachillae 3-6 cm long, pistillate flowers with equal calyx and corolla, and globose, orange or red fruits 5-8 mm diameter. Synonymy was established by Wessel Boer (1965, 1988) and Henderson (1995). Wessels Boer (1988) kept B. ulei separate from B. simplicifrons, based on the pubescence of the abaxial leaf surface. The blade of the type of B. ulei is sparsely and minutely spinulose abaxially, whereas Wessels Boer 2383 is pilose abaxially. Otherwise, both specimens are typical B. simplicifrons.
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This is one of the most common, widespread and variable species of Bactris. It is also frequently collected, so that it is possible to get some idea of the variation of leaf shape, degree of spininess, and inflorescence size over its range. In the Guianas, there is a widespread form occurring in lowland rain forest on terra firme. Plants are usually without spines (except for spinules on the leaf apex), and the blade is simple with sigmoid venation. The lobes of the blade are typically 17-26 cm long and 4-10 cm wide. A larger-leafed form also occurs here, with the blade simple and sigmoid venation, and the lobes 24-58 cm long and 9-10 cm wide. Equally often, pinnate-leafed plants occur with 2-6, sigmoid pinnae per side, the pinnae 11-27 cm long and 1.5-7 cm wide. Independent of leaf shape, the rachillae are either to 6 cm long with larger fruits, or to 3 cm long with smaller fruits. A few plants from white-sand savanna regions are spiny, with the sheath and proximal part of the petiole covered with few to many, flattened, black spines to 1 (-1.5) cm long. In the Guayana Highland region of Venezuela, and adjacent parts of Brazil and Colombia, the majority of specimens are spiny. These are found on white-sand soils and podzols in poorly-drained places, usually in black-water areas, in forest, campina, or savanna at both low and high (to 1700 m) elevations. Individual specimens have been referred to as B. acanthocnemis and B. tenuis. This form also occurs sporadically on white-sand formations near Manaus, and south of the Amazon river near Humaita, Borba, and the upper Rio Tapajos. Leaves of these spiny plants are mostly pinnate with sigmoid pinnae. Some plants have simple, oblanceolate, deeply bifid leaves, with linear, strongly plicate lobes 27-44 cm long and 1.5-5 cm wide. Plants with this leaf shape have been called Bactris huberiana and B. luetzelburgii. In the central Amazon region of Brazil most plants have simple leaves, with lobes typically 17- 26 cm long and 4-10 cm wide. Pinnate-leafed plants occur near Tere, and occasionally in other places. In the western Amazon region of western Brazil , Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia there is considerable variation. Typical forms occur, but there are also some unusual ones. Some plants from Peru (Loreto) and Brazil (western Amazonas) have small, simple leaves with the lobes 13-17 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide. Most specimens from Pasco, Peru, have numerous, sigmoid pinnae. Some specimens from Peru appear intermediate between B. simplicifrons and B. killipii or B. schultesii (e.g., Knapp & Mallet 6510, Knapp & Mallet 7146). One specimen (Colombia. Amazonas: Araracuara, rd. to Puerto Arturo, 360 m, 19 Sep 1987, Galeano & Huiloto 1286 (COL, NY)) has pinnate leaves with densely spinulose rachises, as in B. hirta, with inflorescences of B. simplicifrons. (Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000)/Palmweb. |
Culture
Grows best in a warm, sheltered, moist position.
Comments and Curiosities
Uses: Leaves are used for wrapping and packing materials. Occasionally leaves are used on the roofs of houses for thatching. The leaves are valued for their durability. These leaves are even sometimes taken off old houses to be reused in the construction of a new house, especially if the new living area does not supply these palms. Fruits and palm hearts are edible. Medicinal use: Used as a soporific (a drug or other agent that induces sleep). The fruits are used against fever.
External Links
References
Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.
Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.
Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.
Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).
Henderson, A.J., Bactris (Palmae) in Flora Neotropica Monographs 79. 2000
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.