Oenocarpus bataua
Arecaceae FAMILY

Oenocarpus bataua

Oenocarpus bataua

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of low to moderate elevations in the humid tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,350 metres[1, 2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 21 - 28°c, but can tolerate 17 - 32°c[3]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about 5°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 4,000mm, but tolerates 1,500 - 6,300mm[3]. Requires a sunny position and a moist soil[1]. Very young plants require a shady position, becoming more light-demanding as they grow older[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 4.8 - 5.5, tolerating 4.3 - 6.5[3].

Propagation

Seed - requires a shady position[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Oenocarpus+bataua>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]Minor Oil Crops — Axtell. B.L.; Fairman. R.M. · FAO; Rome. · 1992 · http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5043E/x5043E00.htm#Contents · ISBN 92-5-103128-2 ↩︎A well-written small guide that includes information on over 20 species. Also available for download from the internet.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  6. [6]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  7. [7]Rainforest Conservation Fund — http://www.rainforestconservation.org/data_sheets/agroforestry/index.html ↩︎Terse details on usage and Agroforestry notes, coupled with some good photos.
  8. [8]Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics — Lorenzi. H.; Bacher. L.; Lacerda. M.; Sartori. S. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora LTDA; Brazil. · 2000 · ISBN 85-867174-24-0 ↩︎A superb book, giving information on several hundred fruit species. Each entry has a brief description of the plant and its uses, accompanied by one to many excellent quality photographs of the fruits.
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Edible Nuts. — Wickens G.E. · FAO, Rome. · 1995 · http://www.fao.org/docrep/ · ISBN 92-5-103748-5 ↩︎Detailed information on 20 of the most valuable nut crops, plus more basic information on a wide range of other nut-producing plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  11. [11]Heart of Palm Use: A Family Survey — Scott Zona, Ph.D. · Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Virtual Herbarium. · http://www.virtualherbarium.org/palmresearch/Hearts_of_Palm_table.html ↩︎An on-line article listing the botanical names and range of palm trees that have an edible apical bud.
  12. [12]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  13. [13]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.
  14. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎