Bactris brongniartii is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a shrub or tree with spiny stems, pinnate leaves, and edible purple to black fruits. The species is native to South America, and was described in 1844.
The IUCN lists Bactris brongniartii as of Least Concern.
Taxonomy Bactris brongniartii was described by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius in 1844.
Distribution Bactris brongniartii is native to the wet tropical biome of Bolivia, Brazil (north, north-east, and west-central), Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The species grows along rivers and in seasonally flooded areas, at low elevations.
Description Bactris brongniartii is a shrub or tree. The stems are tall, wide, spiny, and often form large clumps.
The plant has four to seven leaves, which have yellow or yellowish-brown spines. The leaf stems are long. The leaves have twenty-three to thirty-four pinnae on each side. The pinnae are linear-lanceolate, spiny, and irregularly arranged in clumps of two to five.
The inflorescence stem is long, curved, and spiny. The male flowers are deciduous, and long. The male flowers have long sepal lobes, and six stamens. The female flowers are around long, and have a tube-shaped, long calyx. The corolla of female flowers is long, and tube-shaped. The plant flowers from November to February.
The fruits are roughly spherical, long, and purple to black in colour when mature. The mesocarp is juicy, and the endocarp is roughtly oblong or spherical. The plant fruits from March to September.
Uses The fruits are commonly eaten.
Conservation In 2018, the IUCN assessed Bactris brongniartii as of Least Concern. The population is large, and faces no significant threats.
Nomenclature In Spanish, the species is known as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or .
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