''Desmoncus polyacanthos'', the jacitara palm,
is a
spiny, climbing
palm native to the southern
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and tropical
South America. Stems grow clustered together, and are 2–12 m long and 0.5–2 cm in diameter.
Petioles,
rachis,
cirrus and
peduncular bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s are covered with short, curved spines.
Two
varieties are recognised: ''D. polyacanthos'' var. ''polyacanthos''
and ''D. polyacanthos'' var. ''prunifer'' (
Poepp. ex Mart.)
A.J.Hend.
''Desmoncus polyacanthos'' is found in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Venezuela,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Trinidad and Tobago,
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
,
French Guiana,
Brazil,
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Ecuador and
Peru.
[ The stems are used for baskets and sieves.][
]
References
polyacanthos
Trees of Trinidad and Tobago
Trees of South America
Palms of French Guiana
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