Arecaceae FAMILY

Bactris major

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

Almost every part of the plant is covered by long, extremely sharp spines that are capable of piercing the skin on contact^[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub

Growth—

Prefers a warm, sheltered, moist position^[2]. The plant flowers all year round, the fruit being produced for much of the year with a pronounced period of peak harvest^[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bactris+major>

Pollinators

Bees

References

[1]Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope — http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html ↩︎Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
[2]Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia. — http://www.pacsoa.org.au/ ↩︎Contains at least a little information on the majority of palm and cycad species, plus a wealth of photographs. A first class website.
[3]Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas — Henderson A.; Galeano G.; Bernal R. · Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey. · 1995 · ISBN 0-691-08537-4 ↩︎An excellent book, giving basic information on all the 550 species of palms native to the Americas that were known in 1995. Comprehensive information on the plants range and habitat, brief description, some uses and almost 250 photos.