Euterpe edulis

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Arecaceae

Trees or shrubs [lianas], perennial , branched or unbranched, solitary or clustered. Roots adventitious, thick. Stems woody, subterranean or terrestrial , creeping or erect [climbing ], slender or massive, sometimes conspicuously enlarged and storing starch and water, smooth or covered with fibrous or prickly remains of leaf bases . Leaves spirally arranged ; sheaths tubular , often forming crownshaft , sometimes with ligular appendages ; petioles terete , channeled , or ridged , unarmed or bearing prickles or marginal teeth; hastula (flap of tissue from petiole apex at junction with surface of blade ) absent or present adaxially, rarely present abaxially. Leaf blade palmate, costapalmate (intermediate between palmate and pinnate), pinnate, or 2-pinnate [undivided]; plication (folding lengthwise into pleats or furrows ) ^ - or tent-shaped (reduplicate , splitting along abaxial ridges ) or V-shaped (induplicate , splitting along adaxial ridges) ; segments lanceolate, linear , or cuneate [rhombic ], glabrous or variously scaly , unarmed or bearing prickles (proximal segments modified into spines in Phoenix) . Inflorescences from solitary [clustered] axillary buds, borne within, below, or above crown of leaves, paniculate , rarely spicate , usually branched to 1--5 orders ; prophyll (1st bract on main inflorescence axis ) 2-keeled; peduncular bract(s) (empty bract[s] between 1st prophyll and 1st bract subtending branch ) present [absent]; flowers bisexual , unisexual with staminate and pistillate on same plants or on different plants, or both bisexual and unisexual on same plant. Flowers solitary or variously clustered along rachillae of inflorescence, radially symmetric ; perianth 1--2-seriate; sepals [2--]3[--4], distinct or connate ; petals [2--]3[--4], distinct or variously connate; androecium: stamens [3--]6--34[--1000]; filaments distinct or connate or basally adnate to petals; anthers basifixed or dorsifixed , dehiscing latrorsely or introrsely; staminodes in pistillate flowers distinct or variously connate or adnate to pistil or petals; pistils 1 or 3, distinct or partially connate, each bearing 1 ovule and 1 stigma, or 1 pistil bearing 1--3 ovules and 3 stigmas; styles distinct or connate, short; stigmas dry; pistillode in staminate flower present or absent. Fruits drupaceous or berrylike; stigmatic remains basal or apical; exocarp smooth, warty, prickly, or hirsute [corky or scaly]; mesocarp fleshy or dry and fibrous; endocarp papery , leathery, or bony, sometimes with 3 germination pores . Seeds 1(--2+), free or adhering to endocarp; seed coat thin; endosperm homogeneous or ruminate , sometimes penetrated by seed coat; embryo basal, lateral , or apical, peglike, minute; eophyll (1st seedling leaf with blade) undivided and lanceolate or 2-cleft [pinnate].

Genera 1914, species ca. 2500 (19 genera, 29 species in the flora ) : worldwide, especially abundant in Central America, South America, se Asia.

Although palms appeared in various taxonomic schemes since the time of Linnaeus, the first attempt at a modern phylogenetic classification of the palms was published by H. E. Moore Jr. (1973) . Moore left his "major groups" unranked, and his untimely death in 1980 prevented his completing a formal synthesis. J. Dransfield and N. W. Uhl (1986) gave formal ranks to Moore€™s groups and divided the family into six subfamilies and numerous tribes and subtribes . Their Genera Palmarum (N. W. Uhl and J. Dransfield 1987, 1999) is a model of accuracy and completeness and will long serve the needs of the scientific, horticultural, and resource-management communities. With the advent of molecular techniques and a resurgence in palm research, however, realignments in the classification may be expected, and indeed additional data already require some changes in the current scheme (A. Barford 1991; R. G. Bernal et al. 1991; J. L. Dowe and N. W. Uhl 1989; J. Dransfield 1989, 1991; J. Dransfield and H. J. Beentje 1995, 1995b; A. Henderson and M. J. Balick 1991; N. W. Uhl and J. Dransfield 1999; N. W. Uhl et al. 1990, 1995.)

Modern cladistic analyses place the palms as the sister group to the Commelinanae clade (M. W. Chase et al. 1993; J. I. Davis 1995; M. R. Duvall et al. 1993b), with which they share ultraviolet-fluorescent phenolic compounds in their cell walls and Strelitzia-type epicuticular wax morphology (W. Barthlott and D. Frölich 1983; P. J. Harris and R. D. Hartley 1980) . Palms are currently treated as the sole representative of the superorder Arecanae , order Arecales (R. M. T. Dahlgren et al. 1985; R. F. Thorne 1992b) .

Morphologically the family is diverse and complex (see especially P. B . Tomlinson 1990) . The majority of palms produce a single indeterminate stem with axillary inflorescences; several noteworthy departures, however, also occur in numbers of vegetative and floral axes, position of inflorescence, and displacement of terminal bud. Stems may be solitary (monopodial) or clustered (sympodial), erect, prostrate , or lianoid. A majority of palms have unbranched vegetative axes, although aerial branching, sometimes dichotomous, is known in a variety of unrelated genera (e.g. , Korthalsia Blume, Nannorrhops H. Wendland) . Branching may also be nonaxiallary in some genera (J. B. Fisher et al. 1989) .

Studies of pollination (F. Borchsenius 1997; F. Ervik and J. P. Feil 1997; A. Henderson 1986; C. Listabarth 1992, 1993, 1993b, 1994; A. O. Scariot et al. 1991) indicate that insect pollination, especially by beetles (Coleoptera), bees and wasps (Hymenoptera), and flies (Diptera), is apparently more common than wind pollination. Bats (Chiroptera) play a role in the pollination of some species (S. A. Cunningham 1995) .

Dispersal of seeds is generally by means of animals for fleshy-fruited palms (S. Zona and A. Henderson 1989) . Many species of mammals include palm fruits in their diets (S. H. Bullock 1980; R. F. Harlow 1961; W. D. Klimstra and A. L. Dooley 1990; D. S. Maehr 1984; D. S. Maehr and J. R. Brady 1984), but birds also play a significant role. In the Eastern Hemisphere, Cocos Linnaeus and Nypa Steck have achieved a wide distribution as the result of dispersal by water. For the relationship between palms and seed-eating bruchid beetles (Bruchidae: Pachymerinae: Pachmerini), see C. D. Johnson et al. (1995) .[1]

Physical Description

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 6-8' apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Notes

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Euterpe

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 98 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

E. aculeata (Coyure Palm) · E. acuminata (Sierran Palm) · E. acutifrons · E. andicola · E. andina · E. antioquensis · E. aphanolepis · E. aurantiaca · E. badiocarpa · E. beardii · E. brachyclada · E. brachyspatha · E. brasiliana · E. brevicaulis · E. brevivaginata · E. broadwayana · E. broadwayi · E. caatinga · E. carderi · E. caribaea · E. catinga · E. catinga var. catinga · E. catinga var. roraimae · E. chaunostachys · E. concinna · E. confertiflora · E. controversa · E. cuatrecasana · E. dasystachys · E. decurrens · E. disticha · E. dominicana · E. edulis (Edible Euterpe Palm) · E. elegans · E. ensiformis · E. erubescens · E. espiritosantensis · E. filamentosa · E. frigida · E. globosa · E. gracilis · E. haenkeana · E. jatapuensis · E. jenmanii · E. kalbreyeri · E. karsteniana · E. langloisii · E. latisecta · E. longepetiolata · E. longevaginata · E. longibracteata · E. longipetiolata · E. luminosa · E. macrospadix · E. manaele · E. manihot · E. megalochlamys · E. menziesii · E. microcarpa · E. microspadix · E. mollissima · E. montana · E. montis-duida · E. nimbice · E. oleracea (Palisade Palm (Suriname)) · E. oocarpa · E. panamensis · E. parviflora · E. pertenuis · E. petiolata · E. pisifera · E. praga · E. precatoria (Single-Stemmed Assai Palm) · E. precatoria var. longevaginata · E. precatoria var. longivaginata (Euterpe) · E. precatoria var. precatoria · E. precatoria 'Yellow Stripe' · E. ptariana · E. pubigera · E. purpurea · E. puruensis · E. rhodoxyla · E. roraimae · E. roseospadix · E. schultzeana · E. simiarum · E. simplicifrons · E. speciosa · E. stenophylla · E. subruminata · E. tenuiramosa · E. tobagonis · E. trichoclada · E. ventricosa · E. vinifera · E. williamsii · E. zamora · E. zephyria

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Further Reading

• A journey in Brazil / by Professor and Mrs. Louis Agassiz. Boston: Fields, Osgood, 1871. ENG url p. 336, p. 336.
• A journey in Brazil/ by Professor and Mrs. Louis Agassiz. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1868, c1867. ENG url p. 336, p. 338.
• A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro: with an account of the native tribes, and observations of the climate, geology, and natural history of the Amazon Valley / by Alfred Russel Wallace; with a biographical introduction by the editor. London; Ward, Lock, 1889. ENG url p. 302.
• A naturalist in Brazil; the record of a year's observation of her flora, her fauna, and her people, by Konrad Guenther translated by Bernard Miall Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931. ENG url p. 391.
• A synopsis of the palms of Puerto Rico, by O.F. Cook. [New York, 1901] ENG url p. 556.
• Annales botanices systematicae. Auctore Guilielmo Gerardo Walpers. Lipsiae, Sumtibus F. Hofmeister, 1848-68. LAT url p. 806.
• Annales de l'Institut colonial de Marseille. Marseille: Institut colonial de Marseille, -1906. FRE url p. 495, p. 629.
• Annals and magazine of natural history: including zoology, botany and geology London. url p. 60.
• Archivos do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: [Cysneiros & Cia, 1876-1926] POR url p. 188, p. 193, p. 219.
• Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. Madrid: Estab. tip. de Fortenet, 1901-1937. SPA url p. 245, p. 535.
• Botanische Wanderungen in Brasilien. Reiseskizzen und Vegetationsbilder, von W. Detmer. Leipzig, Veit & Comp., 1897. GER url p. 141.
• Botanisches Zentralblatt; referierendes Organ für das Gesamtgebiet der Botanik. Jena [etc.]G. Fischer [etc.] GER url p. 104, p. 130, p. 377, p. 407, p. 809.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 248.
• Bulletin de la Fdration des socits d'horticulture de Belgique. Bruxelles [etc.]1861-1888. FRE url p. 37.
• Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 28 1901 New York: Torrey Botanical Club, 1870- ENG url p. 556.
• Contribución a la flora del departamento del Cuzco / por Fortunato L. Herrera. Cuzco: El Trabajo, 1921. SPA url p. 49.
• Der Tropenpflanzer; zeitschrift fr tropische landwirtschaft. Berlin. GER url p. 221, p. 301.
• Die Gartenwelt. Berlin: G. Schmidt, [1897- GER url p. 178.
• Fifty years of botany; golden jubilee volume of the Botanical Society of America, edited by William Campbell Steere. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1958. ENG url p. 307, p. 314.
• Gardening. Chicago, the Gardening Co., 1892-1925. ENG url p. 125.
• Garten-Zeitung. Berlin, P. Parey. GER url p. 145.
• Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzeitung. Hamburg: R. Kittler, 1852-1890. GER url p. 221, p. 255.
• Handbuch der systematischen botanik, mit besonderer berücksichtigung der arzneipflanzen. Bd. 1. Leipzig, H. Haessel, 1879. GER url p. 341.
• Handwörterbuch der naturwissenschaften / hrsg. von prof. dr. E. Korschelt (zoologie) prof. dr. G. Linck (mineralogie und geologie) prof. dr. F. Oltmanns (botanik) prof. dr. K. Schaum (chemie) prof. dr. H. Th. Simon (physi Jena: G. Fischer, 1912-1915. GER url p. 834.
• Illustrierte Garten-Zeitung. Stuttgart, E. Schweizerbart. GER url p. 146, p. 185, p. 67.
• Indicador de madeiras e plantas uteis do Brasil, por Eurico Teixeira da Fonseca. Rio de Janeiro, Officinas graphicas Villas-Boas & co., 1922. POR url p. 42.
• Jahrbuch für Gartenkunde und Botanik. Bonn: E. Strauss., 1884-1890. GER url p. 254.
• Journal de la Société nationale d'horticulture de France. Paris: Au siége de la Société, 1886-1927. FRE url p. 94.
• Just's botanischer jahresbericht. Systematisch geordnetes repertorium der botanischen literatur aller länder. Berlin, Gebr. Borntraeger, 1874-98; GER url p. 1151, p. 1157, p. 366, p. 564, p. 595, p. 886, p. 943.
• Le Jardin. Paris: Librairie horticole du Jardin, 1887-1921. FRE url p. 379.
• Naturalist's guide to the Americas, prepared by the Committee on the Preservation of Natural Conditions of the Ecological Society of America, with assistance from numerous organizations and individuals, assembled and edited by chairman, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1926. ENG url p. 655.
• Nicholson, G. The illustrated dictionary of gardening: a practical and scientific encyclopædia of horticulture for gardeners and botanists /edited by George Nicholson; assisted by J.W.H. Trail and J. Garrett 3 1884 London: L.U. Gill, [1884]-88. ENG url p. 543.
• Notas a Luccok sobre a flora e fauna do Brazil. Rio de Janeiro, Laemmert, 1882. POR url p. 121.
• Official guide to the Botanic Gardens, Dominica: illustrated: with an index of the principal plants. [Dominica: The Garden, 1922?] ENG url p. 33, p. 42.
• Plant-geography upon a physiological basis. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903. ENG url p. 286, p. 302, p. 829.
• Revista do Museu Paulista. São Paulo: Museu Paulista, 1895- POR url p. 298.
• Synopsis plantarum; seu, Enumeratio systematica plantarum plerumque adhuc cognitarum cum differentiis specificis et synonymis selectis ad modum Persoonii elaborata, auctore David Dietrich. Vimariae, B. F. Voigtii, 1839-1852. LAT url p. 1204.
• Textbook of theoretical botany, by R. C. McLean and W. R. Ivimey-Cook. London, Longmans, Green[1951- ENG url p. 2057, p. 2191.
• The Floral world and garden guide. London, Groombridge and Sons, 1858-1880. ENG url p. 210, p. 213, p. 24.
• The Journal of horticulture, cottage gardener and country gentlemen. London: George W. Johnson and Robert Hogg, 1861-1877. ENG url p. 27, p. 350, p. 362, p. 496, p. 5.
• The Plant world. Baltimore [etc.]Plant World Association [etc.] ENG url p. 188.
• The botany of the Roraima expedition of 1884 / by Everard F. im Thurn; communicated by Sir J.D. Hooker. ENG url p. 264.
• The tropical agriculturist. Colombo, Ceylon: A.M. & J. Ferguson, 1882- ENG url p. 218, p. 356.
• Dransfield, J. and N. W. Uhl. 1986. An outline of a classification of palms. Principes 30: 3--11.
• Henderson, A. 1986. A review of pollination studies in the Palmae. Bot. Rev. 52: 221--259.
• Henderson, A., G. Galeano, and R. G. Bernal. 1995. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton.
• McClintock, E. 1993. Arecaceae [Palmae]. In: J. C. Hickman, ed. 1993. The Jepson Manual. Higher Plants of California. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London. P. 1105.
• Moore, H. E. Jr. 1973. The major groups of palms and their distribution. Gentes Herb. 11: 27--141.
• Tomlinson, P. B. 1990. The Structural Biology of Palms. Oxford.
• Uhl, N. W. and J. Dransfield. 1987. Genera Palmarum. Lawrence, Kans.
• Zona, S. 1997. The genera of Palmae (Arecaceae) in the southeastern United States. Harvard Pap. Bot. 2: 71--107.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby FA, Roskov YR, Orrell TM, Nicolson D, Paglinawan LE, Bailly N, Kirk PM, Bourgoin T, van Hertum J, eds (2008). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist Taxonomic Classification. CD-ROM; Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 15, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
• World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 15, 2007:

• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3482627
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-83063
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15050343
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:666911-1
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 666911-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 739338

Footnotes

1. Scott Zona "Arecaceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 22 Page 95. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

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