''Euterpe precatoria'' is a tall, slender-stemmed,

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

-leaved

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 **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

native to Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. ''E. precatoria'' is used commercially to produce fruits, although ''

Euterpe oleracea Euterpe (; , from + ) was one of the Muses in Greek mythology, presiding over music. In late Classical times, she was named muse of lyric poetry. She has been called "Giver of delight" by ancient poets. Mythology Euterpe was born as one of t ...

'' is more commonly cultivated due to its larger fruits.

Biological description

Stems are usually solitary (occasionally clustered), 3–20 metres tall and 4–23 centimetres in diameter. It is also estimated to be the most common tree in the Amazonian region, though it accounts for just over 1% of all adult trees there (5 billion out of 390 billion). This census covered only the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

. There would be many additional individuals in the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

Basin and in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

Uses

''E. precatoria'' is a non-timber forest product that produces acai berries. As well as the edible fruits, this palm is a source of prized (though not very nutritious)

hearts of palm Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain Palm tree, palm trees, most notably the coconut (''Cocos nucifera''), juçara (''Euterpe edulis''), açaí palm (''Euterpe oleracea''), sabal, palmetto (''Sabal ...

. Since it is a single-stemmed palm, harvesting palm hearts kills the tree, and has led to a reduction in numbers. During the 1990s, the palm was heavily harvested for palmito in Peru and Bolivia, but production dropped in the early 2000s due to overharvesting. Today, prices in Peru are currently high since it is now uncommon in the wild.

Varieties

Two

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

are recognised: ''E. precatoria'' var. ''precatoria'' which has tall, solitary stems and is found in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and throughout most of the

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

portion of the range, and ''E. precatoria'' var. ''longivaginata'' (Mart.)

A.J.Hend. Andrew James Henderson (born September 8, 1950) is a palm- systematist and Curator of the Institute of Systematic Botany at the New York Botanical Garden. He has authored taxonomic descriptions of 140 species, subspecies and varieties of plants ...

which has shorter, solitary or clustered stems, and is found in Colombia and

Etymology

Common names include mountain cabbage in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, açai, açaizeiro, açaí-do-amazonas or açaí-solitário in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, asaí and palmiche in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, wassaï in

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, huasaí in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and manaca in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. The stems are used for construction, a

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

is made from the fruit, and the roots are used medicinally.

Synonymy

Synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

: ;''E. precatoria'' var. ''precatoria'' ;Heterotypic synonyms * ''Euterpe oleracea'' Engel, nom. illeg. * ''Euterpe mollissima'' Spruce, nom. illeg. * ''Euterpe jatapuensis'' Barb.Rodr. * ''Euterpe stenophylla'' Trail ex Burret * ''Euterpe langloisii''

Burret Burret () is a commune in the Ariège department of southwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Burret are called ''Burretois''. See also *Communes of the Ariège department The following is a list of the 325 communes of the Ar ...

* ''Euterpe petiolata'' Burret * ''Euterpe subruminata'' Burret * ''Euterpe confertiflora'' L.H.Bailey ;''E. precatoria'' var. ''longivaginata'' ;Homotypic synonymsHomotypic synonyms are species names which are based on the same

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

individual * ''Euterpe longivaginata'' Mart. ;Heterotypic synonyms * ''Euterpe macrospadix'' Oerst. * ''Euterpe karsteniana'' Engel * ''Euterpe leucospadix'' H.Wendl. ex Hemsl. * ''Plectis oweniana'' O.F.Cook * ''Euterpe kalbreyeri'' Burret * ''Euterpe microcarpa'' Burret * ''Euterpe panamensis'' Burret * ''Rooseveltia frankliniana'' O.F.Cook * ''Euterpe rhodoxyla''

Dugand Armando Dugand (July 23, 1906 – 1971) was a Colombian botanist, geobotanist, and ornithologist. Dugand's father, François Victor (or Francisco Víctor) Dugand, was a successful French banker; his mother was Reyes Geneco (or Gnecco) Coronado.B ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q289828 precatoria Medicinal plants of Central America Medicinal plants of South America Trees of Trinidad and Tobago Trees of Central America Trees of South America Palms of French Guiana Açaí