''Leopoldinia piassaba'', the Para piassava, piassava fiber palm or piassava palm, is a

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 black water rivers in Amazonian

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 ...

and

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 ...

, from which is extracted

piassava Piassava, also piaçava (), piaçaba (), piasaba, pissaba, piassaba, and piaçá (),The piaçá form occurs mostly in Portugal and is considered less correct by some dictionaries. is a fibrous product of Brazilian palm species '' Attalea funifera' ...

, a high caliber and water resistant fiber. Piassaba fiber is made into brooms, baskets and other products. This plant is also a natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of the '' Rhodnius brethesi'' which is a potential

vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

Chagas disease Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by ''Trypanosoma cruzi''. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily Triatominae, known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change throughout the ...

and it is cited in

Flora Brasiliensis ''Flora Brasiliensis'' is a book published between 1840 and 1906 by the editors Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, August Wilhelm Eichler, Ignatz Urban and many others. It contains taxonomic treatments of 22,767 species, mostly Brazilian angiosper ...

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botany, botanist and explorer. Between 1817 and 1820, he travelled 10,000 km through Brazil while collecting botanical specimens. His m ...

References

* Schultes, Richard E. (1974). ''Palms and religion in the northwest Amazon.''

Principes ''Principes'' (: ''princeps'') were Spear, spearmen, and later Swordsmanship, swordsmen, in the Roman army of the mid-Republic, armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy, and could affo ...

18 (1): 3-21. ''

Astrocaryum vulgare ''Astrocaryum vulgare'' is a very spiny palm native to the Guianas and the Amazon. It is a species which has greatly benefited from deforestation, as it cannot grow in undisturbed rainforest. It is common in the Pará state of Brazil, to the east ...

'', ''

Bactris gasipaes ''Bactris gasipaes'' is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to the tropical forests of Central America, Central and South America. It is well spread in these regions, where it is often cultivated by smallholders in agroforestry systems or more ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' E. precatoria'', ''Leopoldinia piassaba'', '' Maximiliana martiana'', ''

Oenocarpus bacaba ''Oenocarpus bacaba'' is an economically important monoecious fruiting palm native to South America and the Amazon rainforest, which has edible fruits. This plant is cited in ''Flora Brasiliensis'' by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. It can re ...

'', ''

Socratea exorrhiza ''Socratea exorrhiza'', the walking palm or cashapona, is a palm native to rainforests in tropical Central and South America. It can grow to 25 metres in height, with a stem diameter of up to 16 cm, but is more typically 15–20 m tall ...

'' * Rocha, Dayse da Silva; Santos, Carolina Magalhães dos; Cunha, Vanda; Jurberg, José; Galvão, Cleber.
Life cycle of Rhodnius brethesi Matta, 1919 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae), a potential vector of Chagas disease in the Amazon region.
' ( Abstract in English) 2004 October; 99 (6): 591–595.

External links

*
USDA Plants Profile: ''Leopoldinia piassaba''
*
Flora Brasiliensis: ''Leopoldinia piassaba''
Arecoideae Trees of the Amazon rainforest Trees of Brazil Trees of Venezuela {{tree-stub