Distribution: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, Ecuador, Brazil, 



Bolivia. 



m 



mewhat 

 ) commo 



arte a ventricosa M 



Common Names: 



Misiboto" (Gua- 



hibo). 



Uses: The trunk of this species is split and used for roof cross- 



metimes cut to m 



bows. 



7. Jessenia bataua (Martius) Burret, Notizbl. 10: 302. 1928. 



Trunk solitary, 15-25 m tall, 15-25 cm in diameter, smooth, free of fibrous 

 covering at maturity, often with a mass of slender roots at base. Leaves pin- 

 nate, sheath ca 1 m long, olive green, lined on the upper edges with a mat of 

 brown fibers and dark brown, erect spines to 1 m long; petiole ca 1 m long, 

 rachis 4-6 m long; pinnae ca 193-212, regularly arranged in a single plane, 

 opposite or subequal, glossy green above, whitish-gray below, covered with 

 small, sickle shaped to peltate scales; basal pinnae 0.6- 1.5 m X 2.5-2.75 cm; 

 middle pinnae 1.0-1.7 m X6-11 cm; apical pinnae 15-70 X 1.5-3.5 cm. Pani- 

 cle bearing 2 bracts; the outer a prophyll ca 70 cm long, the inner a peduncular 

 bract to 2-2.25 m long by 15 cm wide at center, tapering to a slender point and 

 opening along its entire length; hippuriform (shaped like a horse's tail), 1-4 per 

 tree visible at any one time; primary axis variable in size often 30-40 cm long 

 by 7.5-8.5 cm wide at the base of the bract scar; rachillae ca 169-212, to 1 m 

 long, pendulous, creamy-white at anthesis, changing to scurfy red in fruit; 

 flowers borne in triads of 1 inner pistillate and 2 outer staminate on the 

 proximal 1/3-1/4 of the rachillae, distal to which are found only staminate 

 flowers, rachillae attenuate towards apex. Staminate flowers 5-6 mm long, 

 sepals 3, petals 3, stamens 8-16, filaments awl-shaped. Fruits ovoid, variable in 

 size and shape, 2.4-2.9 cm long, each weighing to 1 2 gms or more, purple-black 



when ripe; endosperm ruminate. 



Distribution: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, 



Ecuador, Peru, Brazil. 



Jessenia bataua is one of the more important palms of the 

 gallery forests, both from an ecological and an economic stand- 

 point. It is found either scattered in upland sites or in almost 

 pure stands in lower, inundated areas. Depending on the habi- 

 tat, plants can vary greatly in trunk diameter and inflorescence 

 structure (e.g., number of rachillae, diameter of peduncle, and 

 fruit \,\f*\<\\ PaniHe dimensions and overall number depend also 



11 



