Bactris acanthocarpa is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a shrub with compound leaves, and orange to red fruits. The species is native to South America, and was described in 1826.
Bactris acanthocarpa is used for food and medicine, and is listed as of Least Concern by the IUCN.
Taxonomy The species was described by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius in 1826. Four varieties are recognised: Bactris acanthocarpa var. acanthocarpa - native to north-east and south-east Brazil Bactris acanthocarpa var. exscapa - native to Bolivia, Brazil (north and north-east), Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela Bactris acanthocarpa var. intermedia - native to north Brazil, French Guiana, and Suriname Bactris acanthocarpa var. trailiana - native to Bolivia, north Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela
Distribution Bactris acanthocarpa is native to the seasonally dry tropical biome of Bolivia, Brazil (north, north-east, and south-east), Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The species grows in lowland forests, on non-inundated soils, at elevations of up to .
Description Bactris acanthocarpa is a shrub. The stems are solitary, or in clumps of two to five. The stems are tall, wide, and sometimes spiny.
Each plant has five to fifteen compound leaves, which have scattered black spines. The leaves have twelve to thirty-three pinnae on each side, which are arranged in clusters or two to four. The leaf stems are long.
The inflorescences grow on stems. The male flowers are deciduous, and up to long. The male flowers have sepals with long lobes, long petals, and six stamens. The female flowers are long, and have an urn-shaped, long calyx. The corolla of the female flowers is long.
The fruits are obovoid, wide, orange to red in colour, and have deciduous spines. The epicarp is spiny, the mesocarp is starchy, and the endocarp is obovoid.
Uses Bactris acanthocarpa is used for animal food. The mesocarp of the fruit is used to make medicine, and the endocarps are used as beads.
Ecology Bactris acanthocarpa is eaten by the Brazilian squirrel and the Black-rumped agouti.
Conservation In 2018, the IUCN assessed Bactris acanthocarpa as of Least Concern. The population is large, and faces no major threats.
Nomenclature In Portuguese, the species is known as , , , , or . In Spanish, it is known as , , , or .
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