Oenocarpus bataua
Encyclopedia
The patawa, sehe, hungurahua (Ecuador) or mingucha (Oenocarpus bataua or Jessenia bataua) is a palm tree
native to the Amazonia, that produce eatable fruits rich in high quality oil.
and abundant in the wet zones at elevations less than 1000 m, from Panamá
to South America
: Colombia
, Venezuela
, Guyanas
, Brazil
, Bolivia
, Ecuador
and Peru
.
10–50 cm, rachis
3–7 m long; with leaflet
s up till 2 m long and 15 cm breadth, approximately 100 to each side, placed in the same plane.
The blossom is 1–2 m long, with about 300 rachilas up till 1.3 m length. The flowers are yellow with sepal
s 2 mm and petal
s 7 mm long.
s, contains 8–10% oil. The fresh meolo is eatable too. Besides, in these palm grow eatable larva
s of Rhynchophorus.
The oil is used by traditional medicine to mitigate cough and bronchitis and to fortify the hair.
The rachis have been used to manufacture arrows and the leaves to make baskets ant construct provisional housings.
In the future, this palm could be industrialized for oil production, because its quality and its adaptation in poor soils and its abundant production of fruits.
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...
native to the Amazonia, that produce eatable fruits rich in high quality oil.
Distribution and habitat
It is proper of the tropical rainforestRainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
and abundant in the wet zones at elevations less than 1000 m, from Panamá
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...
to 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...
: Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, 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...
, Guyanas
Guyanas
Guyana is a country in South America.Guyana, Guayana, or Guiana may also refer to:*Guayana Esequiba, the territory of Guyana claimed by Venezuela*Guayana Region, an administrative region of Venezuela...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
and 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....
.
Description
Its stem is solitary, erect, 10–25 m (32.8–82 ft) in height and 2–3 dm (7.9–11.8 in) diameter, smooth, ring-shaped. It has 10–16 leaves terminals, petiolePetiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
10–50 cm, rachis
Rachis
Rachis is a biological term for a main axis or "shaft".-In zoology:In vertebrates a rachis can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the rachis usually form the supporting axis of the body and is then called the spine or vertebral column...
3–7 m long; with leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s up till 2 m long and 15 cm breadth, approximately 100 to each side, placed in the same plane.
The blossom is 1–2 m long, with about 300 rachilas up till 1.3 m length. The flowers are yellow with sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s 2 mm and petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s 7 mm long.
Uses
Traditionally the aboriginals have collected the fruit and mature it in tepid water in order to prepare drunks and also to extract oil: its drupeDrupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
s, contains 8–10% oil. The fresh meolo is eatable too. Besides, in these palm grow eatable larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
s of Rhynchophorus.
The oil is used by traditional medicine to mitigate cough and bronchitis and to fortify the hair.
The rachis have been used to manufacture arrows and the leaves to make baskets ant construct provisional housings.
In the future, this palm could be industrialized for oil production, because its quality and its adaptation in poor soils and its abundant production of fruits.
Synonyms
- Oenocarpus batawa WallaceAlfred Russel WallaceAlfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
(1853), orth. var. - Jessenia polycarpa H.Karst. (1857).
- Jessenia oligocarpa Griseb. & H.Wendl. ex Griseb. (1864)
- Jessenia repanda Engl. (1865).
- Jessenia bataua (Mart.) BurretBurretBurret is a commune in the Ariège department of southwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Burret are called Burretois....
(1928). - Jessenia weberbaueri Burret (1929).