Astrocaryum vulgare
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''Astrocaryum vulgare'' is a very spiny
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 ...
native to the Guianas and the
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
. It is species which has greatly benefited from deforestation, as it cannot grow in undisturbed rainforest. In Brazil it is considered typical of
Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
state in the north of the lower Amazon. This plant has
edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...
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 ...
. ''Astrocaryum vulgare'' was first described in the book ''
Flora Brasiliensis ''Flora Brasiliensis'' is a book published between 1840 and 1906 by the editors Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, August Wilhelm Eichler, Ignatz Urban and many others. It contains taxonomic treatments of 22,767 species, mostly Brazilian angiosper ...
'' by
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduated PhD f ...
.


Common names

This palm is known by the
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
s of ''tucumã'' or ''tucumã-do-Pará'' in
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 ...
(Portuguese), ''awara'' (French) and ''wara'' (Creole) in
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, ''wara awara'' in
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 ...
(Guyanese Creole), ''awara'' (
Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater ...
, Carib, Sranantonga) or ''muru-muru'' (
Paramaccan The Paramaccan or Paramaka ( French: Pamak) are a Maroon tribe living in the forested interior of Suriname, mainly in the Paramacca resort, and the western border area of French Guiana. The Paramaccan signed a peace treaty in 1872 granting the ...
) in
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 ...
, ''chontilla'' in
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 ...
(Spanish).


Description

The tree can grow in height,Morais, Luiz Roberto Barbosa Química de oleaginosas : valorização da biodiversidade amazônica = Chemistry of vegetable oils : valorization of the amazon biodiversity. — Belém, PA : Ed. do Autor, 2012. — (Oleaginosas). CDD-633.850981 although it is usually shorter. In habitus it usually presents as a few to many trunks, each trunk of the same height and width. The trunks grow 15–18 cm in diameter. By growing multiple stems, it regenerates easily after damage. The palm is covered in vicious spines, the trunk is densely covered in different lengths of black, flattened spines which grow to 12 cm long, and the infructescence is also covered in black, 1–3 cm long spikes. The spadices are held erect, and the inner
spathe 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 ...
is two metres long, sometimes more. The fruit is an orange-coloured, round or roundish
drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...
, with a shortly pointed apex. The fruit is contained in a cupule (like an acorn), this is flat, some 1 by 2 cm, and laciniate-crenulate at its margin. The fruit has an oily, fibrous-fleshy, yellow or yellow-orange pulp,PESCE, Celestino. Oleaginosas da Amazônia. –Belém: Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, 2009.334 p.: il. (MPEG) e 978-85-60548-39-2 (MDA). On average, the fruit weighs about , and is some 4.5 by 3-3.5 cm in size. It contains a large nut with a very hard woody shell, which is almost black in color. The nut contains an oily white substance. The nut (a
pyrene Pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) consisting of four fused benzene rings, resulting in a flat aromatic system. The chemical formula is . This yellow solid is the smallest peri-fused PAH (one where the rings are fused through mor ...
) is usually narrowed to the base and one-seeded, although it may also be globose in shape if it contains two seeds. The shell is 3mm thick.


Distribution

This species is native to
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
,
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 ...
and the northern Amazonian region of Brazil. It is common in
Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
state of Brazil and throughout the Guianas, being very abundant in the populated coastal regions, as well as extremely abundant in the white-sand savanna belt.


Ecology

It is a characteristic palm of ''terra firme'' (rainforest which is never inundated under water), low vegetation cover, and open fields. ''Astrocaryum vulgare'' is considered a
pioneer plant Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...
with aggressive growth, has the ability to grow new shoots after a fire, and mainly inhabits
secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...
s and pastures. It is never found in undisturbed old-growth rainforest. In the Guianas it is typically found on rather dry, sandy soil. It is very common in white-sand savanna. The seeds are probably mostly dispersed by
capuchin monkey The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...
s and scatter-hoarding rodents (
agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...
s and achouchis). In Guyana, researchers found its inflorescences produce heat and odor during nocturnal anthesis, which draws hordes of different beetles to feed, mate, and oviposition. Although beetles pollinate, wind pollination was also employed, and experiments showed the palm also self-fertilized.


Uses

Seeds take up to two years to germinate, the plants grow slowly in cultivation, and start to produce fruits after eight years.


Cuisine

In
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, at Easter, Guianans (Guyanais/Guyanaises) eat a traditional dish made with ''awara'' paste called ''bouillon d'awara'', or awara broth. It is said that if you eat ''bouillon d'awara'', you'll return to French Guiana. ("''Si tu manges du bouillon d'awara… en Guyane tu reviendras.''")


The tucum ring

The seed in the fruit is notably used by indigenous Amazonians to make black
rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
. In the 1800s, this ring was used as a symbol of marriage for the slaves and natives, who could not afford to purchase gold. In addition, the ring was also a symbol of friendship and of resistance to the established order – the freedom fighters. Now these rings are worn by
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
as a symbol of solidarity with the poor and support in the struggle for equality,
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
and
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
.our ring


Experimental uses

Two types of oils can be produced from the fruit: the oil of external pulp and the seed. 34% of the fruit weight corresponds to the external pulp that has 14% to 16% of the oil when it is raw. It has been theorised that in the future this species might be exploited as an alternative to
oil palm ''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 co ...
for the production of
biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
. In one hectare, 400 palm clusters could be planted, each cluster with three trunks. In total, this equals 1200 palm trunks. A mature tree can produce up to of fruits per year, which corresponds to of pulp oil and of seed oil. Thus, if everything went well, this could result in 4.8 tons of fatty material per hectare. Astrocaryum vulgare.jpg , Fruits of ''Astrocaryum vulgare'' Astrocaryum vulgare MHNT.jpg, Seeds Anel_de_Tucum.jpeg,
Tucum ring The tucum ring ( pt, anel de tucum) is a black-colored ring made with the seed of ''Astrocaryum vulgare'', a palm tree native to the Amazon Rainforest. It is worn by Christians in Brazil, especially Catholics, as a symbol of the commitment of thei ...
and Bible


References

*Schultes, Richard E. (1974). Palms and religion in the northwest Amazon. ''
Principes ''Principes'' (Singular: ''princeps'') were spearmen, and later swordsmen, in the armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy, and could afford decent equipment. They were the heavier in ...
'' 18 (1): 3-21. * Freitas, C. O.; Silva, M. M., Silva, I. Q., Rodrigues, A. M. C. ''Características Físicas da Oleaginosa Tucumã'' (''Astrocaryum vulgare'' Mart.)


External links


''Astrocaryum vulgare''
photo of fruit


liensis.cria.org.br/search?taxon_id=13369 Flora Brasiliensis: ''Astrocaryum vulgare''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q684877
vulgare This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...
Crops originating from South America Taxa named by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Trees of Brazil Palms of French Guiana Trees of Guyana Trees of Suriname Trees of the Amazon Tropical agriculture