''Leopoldinia piassaba'', the Para piassava, piassava fiber palm or piassava palm, is a

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 black water rivers in Amazonian

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 ...

and

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 ...

, from which is extracted

piassava Piassava, also piaçava (), piaçaba (), piasaba, pissaba, piassaba, and piaçá (),The piaçá form occurs mostly in Portugal and is considered less correct by some dictionaries. is a fibrous product of Brazilian palm species '' Attalea funifera' ...

, a high caliber and water resistant fiber. Piassaba fiber is made into brooms, baskets, and other products. This plant is also a natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of the '' Rhodnius brethesi'', which is a potential

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

of Chagas disease, and it is cited in

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 angiosp ...

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 ...

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. ''

Astrocaryum vulgare ''Astrocaryum vulgare'' is a very spiny palm native to the Guianas and the Amazon. It is species which has greatly benefited from deforestation, as it cannot grow in undisturbed rainforest. In Brazil it is considered typical of Pará state in the ...

'', ''

Bactris gasipaes ''Bactris gasipaes'' is a species of palm native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. It is well spread in these regions, where it is often cultivated by smallholders in agroforestry systems or more rarely, in monoculture. Commo ...

'', ''

Euterpe oleracea Euterpe (; el, Εὐτέρπη, lit=rejoicing well' or 'delight , from grc, εὖ, eû, well + el, τέρπειν, térpein, to please) was one of the Muses in Greek mythology, presiding over music. In late Classical times, she was named muse ...

'', '' E. precatoria'', ''Leopoldinia piassaba'', '' Maximiliana martiana'', ''

Oenocarpus bacaba ''Oenocarpus bacaba'' is an economically important monoecious fruiting palm native to South America and the Amazon Rainforest, which has edible fruits. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. It can reach ...

'', ''

Socratea exorrhiza ''Socratea exorrhiza'', the walking palm or cashapona, is a palm native to rainforests in tropical Central and South America. It can grow to 25 metres in height, with a stem diameter of up to 16 cm, but is more typically 15–20 m tall ...

'' * Rocha, Dayse da Silva; Santos, Carolina Magalhães dos; Cunha, Vanda; Jurberg, José; Galvão, Cleber.
Life cycle of Rhodnius brethesi Matta, 1919 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae), a potential vector of Chagas disease in the Amazon region.
' ( Abstract in English) 2004 October; 99 (6): 591–595.

External links

*
USDA Plants Profile: ''Leopoldinia piassaba''
*
Flora Brasiliensis: ''Leopoldinia piassaba''
Arecoideae Trees of the Amazon Trees of Brazil Trees of Venezuela {{tree-stub