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Parajubaea cocoides
Burret
Original
reference:
Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 11: 48 (1930)
Morphology:
Ornamental palm. Stem solitary, to 16 m tall, 20-30 cm in diameter, usually thickest in the middle, smooth and grey. Leaves 20-30, spreading, the lower ones pendulous, 3-4 m long; pinnae 60-70 on each side, narrow, dark green, regularly inserted and spreading in one plane, the central ones 60-70 cm long and ca. 3 cm wide. Inflorescence 1-2 m long, with 50-70 short branches, 10-30 cm long. Infructescence pendulous, overhung by a large, woody, peduncular bract, the fruits forming a compact, cylindrical mass from which the branch tips are sticking out. Fruits green, smooth, beaked, 4-5.5 cm long, 3-4 cm wide.
Distribution:
Planted as an ornamental street tree in Andean towns throughout the country, mostly at elevations between 2500 and 3000 m.
Notes:
Not known in the wild. Its assumed closest relative, Parajubaea torallyi var. microcarpa Moraes is native to Bolivia.
Common
names:
Coco cumbe
-
Spanish
(Borchsenius et al. 1998
).
Coco cumbi
-
Spanish
(I. Padilla #2031).
Uses:
Buttons are occasionally carved from the hard endosperm.
(Borchsenius et al. 1998).
Fruits are eaten - also by rats
(S. Laegaard #55490).
The endosperm is edible, and sold on markets
(Borchsenius et al. 1998).
The palm is an ornamental tree
(Borchsenius et al. 1998).
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Habit of Parajubaea cocoides
Photo:
H. B. Pedersen
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