Arecaceae FAMILY

Bactris gasipaes

Edibility

5/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

The stems are usually heavily armed with rings of very sharp, black spines about 5 cm long[ 314 Title Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia. Publication Author Website http://www.pacsoa.org.au/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Contains at least a little information on the majority of palm and cycad species, plus a wealth of photographs. A first class website. ].

Botanical Description

Bactris gasipaes is a multi-stemmed, evergreen, feather palm with spiny stems that can grow up to 20 metres tall. The plant usually forms a clump of stems from suckers at the base; each unbranched stem being topped by a crown of large leaves that are up to 3 metres long. The stems can be 10 - 30cm in diameter[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. , 315 Title Flora of Barro Colorado Island Publication Author Croat. Thomas B. Website http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/bioinformatics/croat/home Publisher Stanford University Press Year 1978 ISBN 0-8047-0950-5 Description A very good flora of an area in Panama. Written some years ago, so some of the names have been changed. The book is out of print, but the whole flora is now available on the web. , 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ]. Peach palm is widely cultivated in South America for its edible fruit[ 297 Title Palms of the World Publication Author Blombery. A. & Rodd. T. Publisher Angus and Robertson Year 1992 ISBN 0-207-14848-1 Description An excellent guide, well illustrated, with information on cultivation, uses, habitat etc of almost 200 species of Palms. ] and has been introduced to Asia, though it has not become popular there[ 303 Title World Agroforesty Centre Publication Author Website http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc. ]. It grows wild in massive stands in northwest S. America, where it fruits prolifically and provides food for millions of people[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. It has great potential as a food crop for tropical areas[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ], where it is also grown for its ornamental value[ 303 Title World Agroforesty Centre Publication Author Website http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeCentral and northern S. America.

HabitatNot known in a truly wild location[ 300 Title Vegetables in the Tropics Publication Author Tindall. H. D. Publisher MacMillan, Oxford. Year 1983 ISBN 0-333-24268-8 Description An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants. , 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. Plants are found in disturbed natural ecosystems, principally along riverbeds and primary forest gaps[ 303 Title World Agroforesty Centre Publication Author Website http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc. ].