''Mauritiella'' is a dioecious

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 Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

family found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related genus ''

Mauritia ''Mauritia'' is a genus of fan palms which is native to northern South America and to the Island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Only two species are currently accepted. References

Mauritia, Trees of South America Trees of Trinidad ...

''.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>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. / Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Four species are recognized: * ''

Mauritiella aculeata ''Mauritiella aculeata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found in South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively s ...

'' (Kunth) Burret - Venezuela, southeastern Colombia, northwestern Brazil * ''

Mauritiella armata ''Mauritiella armata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found in South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively sma ...

'' (Mart.) Burret - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname * ''

Mauritiella macroclada ''Mauritiella'' is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related genus '' Mauritia''.Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (198 ...

'' (Burret) Burret - western Ecuador, western Colombia * ''

Mauritiella pumila ''Mauritiella pumila'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is ...

'' (Wallace) Burret - southwestern Venezuela, southeastern Colombia

Description

From 7.5 to 18 m tall, the trunks are clustering and armed with small spines, usually with stilt

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s at the base. ''A. aculeata'' tends to be smaller, with trunk diameters around 10 cm, ''M. armata'' and ''M. macroclada'' trunks reach 25 – 30 cm; all three retain persistent leaf bases towards the top of the stem. Each 1 m

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

of a mature tree is palmate with a brief costa, borne on a long petiole, and divided into numerous, deep segments; leaves of juvenile trees are flattened and much less divided. Bright to deep green, the foliage has silvery, glaucous undersides.Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) ''An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms''. Portland: Timber Press. / The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is usually solitary, interfoliar, with male and female units represented in separate plants. The round

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 ...

is usually 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 ...

ed and covered in red to brown scales with a thick, fleshy mesocarp. The seed is spherical or oblong, basally attached, with an elongated apical knob.

Distribution and habitat

''Mauritiella'' palms are found throughout South America's northern half on

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

, alongside

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s and watercourses, in

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

and in cleared or open

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

. ''M. aculeata'' grows on the banks of the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

and its tributaries in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, ''M. macroclada'' inhabits the western slopes of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

in Colombia and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

to an elevation of 900 m, with ''M. armata'' (locally known as ''aguajillo'') being the most widespread, found throughout

Amazonia The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

and adjacent uplands, alongside streams and rivers. Usually found at low elevations, ''M. armata'' also thrives in mountainous

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 ...

to elevations of 1400 m. In habitat, the leaves are used in roof construction and the fruit is eaten.

References

External links

''Mauritiella'' on NPGS/GRIN

Fairchild Guide to Palms

GBIF portal

Image at DOL.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q143795 Calamoideae Arecaceae genera Dioecious plants Trees of South America Taxa named by Max Burret