''Barcella'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the palm family found in the States of Amazonas and

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

in northwestern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The only known species is ''Barcella odora'' which is used by the Brazilian peoples in construction and for various thatched goods.

Description

The unarmed trunks of ''Barcella odora'' usually remain underground, producing 2 m arching

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

with pendent, lanceolate leaflets, 60 cm long and dark green in color. The leaflets are regularly arranged along the rachis, once-folded, with a prominent midrib and a tapering apex. They are

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

with male and female flowers on a single plant, the interfoliar

inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

are once branched with both pistilate and staminate flowers containing three sepals and three petals. The 3 cm ovoid

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

mature to a bright orange color each with one

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

. ''Barcella'' and the closely related genus ''

Elaeis ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its cou ...

'' form a taxon within

Cocoseae Cocoseae is a tribe of cocosoid palms of the family Arecaceae. Description The fruit of the Cocoseae is a modified drupe, with a sclerenchymatous epicarp and a highly developed mesocarp, formed mainly by parenchyma . The endocarp is generally sc ...

represented by their large pistilate flowers sunken in the rachillae, as well as endocarp pores. ''Elaeis'' is distinguished from ''Barcella'' by the presence of petiole spines and a fibrous, rather than woody, bract.Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) ''Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore''. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. /

Distribution and habitat

These palms are found at low altitudes along the Rio Negro river and its tributaries, growing in

campinarana Campinarana (NT0158, ), also called Rio Negro Campinarana, is a neotropical ecoregion in the Amazon biome of the north west of Brazil and the east of Colombia that contains vegetation adapted to extremely poor soil. It includes savanna, scrub an ...

(sandy scrubland).Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) ''An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms''. Portland: Timber Press. /

References

External links

''Barcella'' on NPGS/GRINFairchild Guide to Palms: ''Barcella''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2710998 Cocoseae Monotypic Arecaceae genera Endemic flora of Brazil Taxa named by Carl Georg Oscar Drude