Bactris concinna

Bactris concinna
Mart.

Original
reference:
Hist. nat. palm. 2: 99 (1826)

Morphology:
Understorey palm. Stems clustered, forming large colonies, 1-8 m tall and 1.5-5 cm in diameter. Leaf blade 1-2 m long; pinnae 30-50 on each side, regularly inserted and spreading in one plane, the central ones 40-70 cm long and 2-3.5 cm wide, lined with small black spines along the midrib and the margins. Inflorescence 25-50 cm long, unbranched or with 2-3, 10-12 cm long branches. Female flowers regularly arranged along the branches. Fruits glossy black, 2-5 cm long, tightly packed; fruiting perianth with a small, lobed calyx, a much longer corolla, and a staminodial ring.

Distribution:
W Amazon region in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.
In Ecuador it is a common species throughout the E lowlands, forming large colonies on periodically flooded terrain especially along black water streams, or more rarely on river terraces.

Notes:
Henderson (1995) recognised three varieties of this species, now considered distinct species (Henderson 2000): var. inundata (=B. concinna), var. concinna (=B. martiana) and var. sigmoideae (=B. chaveziae).

Common
names:
Achupara
–
Quichua
(B. Bergmann #97849 and additional references).

An za pára
–
Cofán
(H.V. Pinkley #335 ).

Anzapara
–
Cofán
(Pinkley 1973 and additional references).

Chontilla
–
Spanish
(J.E. Lawesson #44458 ).

Wi
–
Siona
(Lescure et al. 1987).

Uses:

Fruits are edible
(B. Bergmann #97853 and additional references).

Fruits are used as a sweet
(J.E. Lawesson #44458 ).

One infructescence may carry up to 2.3 kg fruit
(Lescure et al. 1987).

Synonym
list
(3)

Specimen
list