Acrocomia aculeata

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Acrocomia aculeata

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Acrocomia
Species:
A. aculeata
Binomial name
Acrocomia aculeata
(Jacq.) Lodd. ex Mart.[2]

Acrocomia aculeata is a species of

Neotropics
.

Common names

Common names include grugru palm, gloo gloo, corojo, macaúba palm, coyol palm, and macaw palm; synonyms include A. lasiospatha, A. sclerocarpa, and A. vinifera.

Description

Fruit of Acrocomia aculeata
Composition of fruit by layers

It grows up to 15–20 m tall, with a trunk up to 50 cm in diameter, characterized by numerous slender, black, viciously sharp 10 cm long spines jutting out from the trunk. The

endocarp, is very tough to break and contains usually one single, dark brown, nut-like seed 1–2 cm in diameter. The inside of the seed, also called endosperm
, is a dry white filling that has a vaguely sweet taste like coconut when eaten. The fruit turns yellow when ripe and has a hard outer shell. The pulp is slightly sweet and is extremely slimy and sticky.

Distribution and Habitat

The species is found from southern

Mata Atlântica rainforest. It also extends into Paraguay and northern Argentina
, thriving in environments ranging from grasslands to subtropical forests.

Ecology

The tree was noted by the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates in his 1863 book The Naturalist on the River Amazons, where he wrote that

[The hyacinth macaw] flies in pairs, and feeds on the hard nuts of several palms, but especially of the Mucuja (Acrocomia lasiospatha). These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw.

— Bates[4]

Uses

Acrocomia aculeata spiky stem

The plants inhabit a wide variety of climates and situations; in

fermented alcoholic beverage known as coyol wine
.

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T201622A2709063.en
    . Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  2. ^ Martius, Historia Naturalis Palmarum 2:66. 1824
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Bates, H. W. (1864). The naturalist on the River Amazons. London: J. Murray. Pages 79–80. (1st (long) ed.) 1863

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acrocomia aculeata.
Wikispecies has information related to Acrocomia aculeata.
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