Aiphanes ulei

Aiphanes ulei
(Dammer) Burret

Original
reference:
Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 11: 568 (1932)

Morphology:
Understorey palm. Stem solitary, short and subterranean, or well developed, to 5 m tall, 2.5-5 cm in diameter. Leaf blade 60-180 cm long; pinnae 9-15 on each side, wedge shaped, inserted in groups of 2-3 and spreading in different planes, grey-silverish green below, the central ones 15-35 cm long and 8-20 cm wide, with a sinuously V-shaped incision at apex. Inflorescence 75-150 cm long, with 30-40 thick, adpressed branches. Flowers white or yellow. Fruits less than 1 cm in diameter, bright red, often angled from mutual pressure.

Distribution:
Moist to wet tropical and premontane forest in the W part of the Amazon basin in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador.

Notes:
Two forms of this species appear to exist. The first is acaulescent and has white flowers, the other has a well developed aerial stem and yellow flowers.

Common
names:
Chontilla
–
Spanish
(F. Skov #64715 ).

Cuchi Rabo
–

(Balslev & Barfod 1987
).

Cutrava
–

(B. Bergmann #67217 ).

Ora Mio
–
Siona
(H. Balslev #62067 ).

Túntuamar
–
Achuar
(H.B. Pedersen #97621 ).

Uses:

A decoction of the palm heart is drunk against body pains
(H. Balslev #62067 ).