Dictyocaryum
Encyclopedia
Dictyocaryum is a monoecious genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family found in South America
which is closely related to the Iriartea
genus; they are commonly called araque or palma real. As many as eleven species
have been described but this number is reduced to three in most current accounts. The genus name translates from two Greek
words meaning "net" and "nut", describing the thick network of raphe
fibers around the seed
.
s and 4-6 large, plumose, pinnate
leaves. The leaves
may be sparsely to densely tomentose on the rachis and petiole, the leaflets are regularly and widely spaced, up to 60 cm long, dark green on top and glaucous on the underside.
Compared to other palms, the inflorescences in this genus are unusually large, once-branched, and emerge below the leaf crown. Both male and female flowers are white to yellow, growing on the same plant, both with three sepals and three petals. The fruit
develops from one carpel, yellow to orange to brown when ripe, containing one basally attached, spherical seed.
rain forest regions of Panama
, Ecuador
, Brazil
, Peru
, Bolivia
, Guyana
and Venezuela
from low elevations up to 1800 m. They often colonize in large, conspicuous groves, on steep slopes, receiving generous rain fall, and growing in acidic, noncalcerous soil.
or jelly. The Emberá
Indians use the hard, durable trunks in the construction of coffin
s.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
family found in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
which is closely related to the Iriartea
Iriartea
Iriartea is a genus in the palm family Arecaceae, native to Central and South America. The best-known species – and probably the only one – is Iriartea deltoidea, which is found from Nicaragua south into Bolivia. It is the most common tree in many forests in which it occurs...
genus; they are commonly called araque or palma real. As many as eleven species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
have been described but this number is reduced to three in most current accounts. The genus name translates from two Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words meaning "net" and "nut", describing the thick network of raphe
Raphe
Raphe has several different meanings in science. Pronounced .In botany and planktology it is commonly used when describing a seam or ridge on diatoms or seeds....
fibers around the seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
.
Description
Dictocaryum palms are usually solitary in nature though D. ptarianum will occasionally cluster in habitat. All three plants have conical masses of stilt roots at the base which are armed with spines. The trunks are conspicuously ringed by leaf scars, to 30 cm wide, and in D. lamarckianum reach over 20 m in height. All have tall crownshaftCrownshaft
An elongated circumferential leaf base formation present on some species of palm is called a crownshaft.The leaf bases of some pinnate leaved palms form a sheath at the top of the trunk surrounding the bud where all the subsequent leaves are formed.The crownshaft...
s and 4-6 large, plumose, pinnate
Pinnate
Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts...
leaves. The leaves
Leaves
-History:Vocalist Arnar Gudjonsson was formerly the guitarist with Mower, and he was joined by Hallur Hallsson , Arnar Ólafsson , Bjarni Grímsson , and Andri Ásgrímsson . Late in 2001 they played with Emiliana Torrini and drew early praise from the New York Times...
may be sparsely to densely tomentose on the rachis and petiole, the leaflets are regularly and widely spaced, up to 60 cm long, dark green on top and glaucous on the underside.
Compared to other palms, the inflorescences in this genus are unusually large, once-branched, and emerge below the leaf crown. Both male and female flowers are white to yellow, growing on the same plant, both with three sepals and three petals. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
develops from one carpel, yellow to orange to brown when ripe, containing one basally attached, spherical seed.
Distribution and habitat
Palms in this genus are found in the mountainous and montaneMontane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
rain forest regions of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
from low elevations up to 1800 m. They often colonize in large, conspicuous groves, on steep slopes, receiving generous rain fall, and growing in acidic, noncalcerous soil.
Cultivation and uses
Their growing conditions are usually hard to mimic, making them relatively uncommon in cultivation. They require a frost-free climate, humus-rich soil, and plenty of water. In their natural range the trunks are used by indigenous people in construction and cabinet-making, the leaves are woven into thatched goods, while the fruit is eaten and made into wineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
or jelly. The Emberá
Embera-Wounaan
The Embera–Wounaan are a group of semi-nomadic Indians in Panama, living in the province of Darien at the shores of the Chucunaque, Sambu, Tuira Rivers and its water ways...
Indians use the hard, durable trunks in the construction of coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
s.