''Acrocomia'' is a genus of palms which is native to the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...

, ranging from

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

in the north, through

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and the Caribbean, and through

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

south to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
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Description

''Acrocomia'' is a genus of spiny,

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, an ...

-leaved palms which range from large trees to small palms with short, subterranean stems. The species bears branched

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s which are located among the leaves. The

unisexual flowers Plant reproductive morphology is the study of the physical form and structure (the morphology) of those parts of plants directly or indirectly concerned with sexual reproduction. Among all living organisms, flowers, which are the reproductive ...

; female flowers are born near the base of the inflorescence, while male flowers are borne towards the tips. Fruit are large, single-seeded, and vary in colour from yellow, to orange, to brown. Ricardo Vargas‑Carpintero et al. have concluded that "main research gaps are associated with genotype–environment interaction, planting material, crop management, and sustainable cropping systems. Overall, we conclude that acrocomia is at an early phase of development as an alternative and multipurpose crop and its up-scaling requires the integration of sustainability strategies tailored to location-based social-ecological conditions." Acrocomia aculeata, immature Grugu Nuts

Species

* ''

Acrocomia aculeata ''Acrocomia aculeata'' is a species of palm native to the Neotropics, from southern Mexico and the Caribbean south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Common names include grugru palm, gloo gloo, macaúba palm, coyol palm, and macaw palm; synony ...

'' (

Jacq. Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. Biography Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to P ...

)

Lodd. The Loddiges family (not uncommonly mis-spelt ''Loddige'') managed one of the most notable of the eighteenth and nineteenth century plant nurseries that traded in and introduced exotic plants, trees, shrubs, ferns, palms and orchids into Europea ...

ex R.Keith - Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America * ''

Acrocomia crispa ''Acrocomia crispa'', the Cuban belly palm or corojo, a palm species which is endemic to Cuba. Formerly placed in its own genus, ''Gastrococos'', recent work found that that genus was nested within ''Acrocomia''. It is a tall, spiny palm with ...

'' (

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the American continent ...

) C. Baker ex. Becc. - Cuba * '' Acrocomia emensis'' (Toledo) Lorenzi - Brazil * ''

Acrocomia glaucescens ''Acrocomia'' is a genus of palms which is native to the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico in the north, through Central America and the Caribbean, and through South America south to Argentina. Description ''Acrocomia'' is a genus of spiny, pin ...

'' Lorenzi - Brazil * '' Acrocomia hassleri'' ( Barb.Rodr.) W.J.Hahn - Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraguay * '' Acrocomia intumescens'' Drude - Brazil * '' Acrocomia media'' O.F.Cook - Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands * '' Acrocomia mexicana'' Karw. ex Mart. - Yucatán, Mexico * ''Acrocomia totai''

Mart. Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botany, botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduat ...

Canteiro, C. 2021. Acrocomia totai. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T111452251A161420865. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T111452251A161420865.en. Accessed on 27 October 2022. - Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, southern Brazil

References

External links

''Acrocomia research at the University of Hohenheim''
Arecaceae genera Neotropical realm flora {{Cocoseae-stub