Bactris tomentosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a shrub or palm tree with spines, eight to thirteen leaves, and black to purplish fruits. The species is native to Brazil and French Guiana.
Bactris tomentosa was described in 1826, and is listed as of Least Concern by the IUCN.
Taxonomy The species was described by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius in 1826.
Distribution Bactris tomentosa is native to the wet tropical biome of Brazil (Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, and Pará), and French Guiana. Its estimated extent of occurrence is . The species grows in lowland rainforests.
Description Bactris tomentosa is a shrub or palm tree. The stems are high, wide, and spiny.
The plant has eight to thirteen leaves, which have two to eleven irregularly clustered pinnae on each side. The pinnae are wedge-shaped. The leaves have scattered yellowish spines up to long. The leaf stem is long.
The flower stem is around long, slightly curved, and lacks spines. The male flowers are long, and have six to nine stamens. The sepal lobes are long. The female flowers are long. The calyx is tube-shaped, and long. The corolla is long, and tube-shaped. The calyx and corolla occasionally have spines.
The fruit is black to purplish, obovoid, up to long, and up to wide. The epicarp is spiny, and the mesocarp is juicy. The endocarp is turbinate, and ridged.
Ecology The butterfly Dasyophthalma rusina feeds on Bactris tomentosa.
Conservation In 2018, the IUCN assessed Bactris tomentosa as of Least Concern. The species faces no major threats.
Nomenclature In Portuguese, Bactris tomentosa is known as .
References
External links