Astrocaryum is a genus of about 36Kew Palms Checklist: Astrocaryum to 40 species of palms native to Central and South America and Trinidad.
Description Astrocaryum is a genus of spiny palms with pinnately compound leaves–rows of leaflets emerge on either side of the axis of the leaf in a feather-like or fern-like pattern. Some species are single-stemmed, while others grow in multi-stemmed (caespitose) clumps. They are pleonanthic—they flower repeatedly over the course of their lifespan—and monoecious, meaning that there are separate male and female flowers, but individuals plants bear both types of flowers.
Taxonomy History The type species, Astrocaryum aculeatum, was first described by German botanist Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer in 1818 based on a specimen from the Essequibo River in Guyana.
Species
Astrocaryum acaule Mart. Astrocaryum aculeatissimum (Schott) Burret Astrocaryum aculeatum G.Mey. Astrocaryum alatum Loomis Astrocaryum campestre Mart. Astrocaryum carnosum F.Kahn & B.Millán Astrocaryum chambira Burret Astrocaryum chonta Mart. Astrocaryum ciliatum F.Kahn & B.Millán Astrocaryum confertum H.Wendl. ex Burret Astrocaryum faranae F.Kahn & E.Ferreira Astrocaryum farinosum Barb.Rodr. Astrocaryum ferrugineum F.Kahn & B.Millán Astrocaryum giganteum Barb.Rodr. Astrocaryum gratum F.Kahn & B.Millán Astrocaryum gynacanthum Mart. Astrocaryum huaimi Mart. Astrocaryum huicungo Dammer ex Burret Astrocaryum jauari Mart. Astrocaryum javarense (Trail) Drude Astrocaryum macrocalyx Burret Astrocaryum malybo H.Karst. Astrocaryum mexicanum Liebm. ex Mart. Astrocaryum minus Trail Astrocaryum murumuru Mart. Astrocaryum paramaca Mart. Astrocaryum perangustatum F.Kahn & B.Millán Astrocaryum rodriguesii Trail Astrocaryum sciophilum (Miq.) Pulle Astrocaryum scopatum F.Kahn & B.Millán Astrocaryum sociale Barb.Rodr. Astrocaryum standleyanum L.H.Bailey Astrocaryum triandrum Galeano-Garces, R.Bernal & F.Kahn Astrocaryum ulei Burret Astrocaryum urostachys Burret Astrocaryum vulgare Mart.
One well known member of the genus is Astrocaryum vulgare, typical in the Pará state of Brazil. Astrocaryum mexicanum, a common palm of the Caribbean coast of Central America, is known as warree cohune in Brazil, as its spines are said to resemble the bristles of the white-lipped peccary or warree.
Uses The fruit and seeds of several species are used for human food, oil production and fish bait. Leaves are used as a source of fibre and stems as building material. Species are also used medicinally and as a source of palm heart.
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