''Oenocarpus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 palms (Arecaceae) native to

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 ...

, southern Central and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

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 ...

. (2004): World Checklist of Arecaceae &ndash
''Oenocarpus''
The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2008-DEC-24. With nine

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

and one natural

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

, the genus is distributed from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and Trinidad in the north to

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

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

in the south. Common names in their native range are ''bacaba'' in

, and ''palma milpesos'' (or just ''milpesos'') in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

-speaking countries. These terms may also refer to the best-known member of this genus, '' O. bacaba'', but more precise common names exist for that species. The fruit of ''Oenocarpus'' palms are food for various animals, such as the

green aracari The green araçari (''Pteroglossus viridis''), is a toucan, a near-passerine bird. It is found in the lowland forests of northeastern South America (the Guiana Shield), in the northeast Amazon Basin, the Guianas and the eastern Orinoco River drain ...

('' Pteroglossus viridis'') for which ''O. bacaba'' fruit are a mainstay food. They are also locally eaten by humans, and these palms are also used in

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

. Their wood is useful for

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

and the fruits can also be used to produce oil, which is of excellent quality and was used as a substitute for

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

during WW2.

List of species

The currently accepted species of ''Oenocarpus'' are: * '' Oenocarpus × andersonii'' Balick - northwestern Brazil (''O. bacaba × O. minor'') * '' Oenocarpus bacaba'' Mart, - Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, the Guianas —''bacaba açu, bacaba-de-leque, bacaba verdadeira'' (

), ''manoco, punáma'' (

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 ...

), ''camon'' (

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 ...

), ''ungurauy'' (

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 ...

), ''koemboe'' (

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

) * '' Oenocarpus balickii'' F.Kahn — northwestern Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador - ''sinamillo'' * '' Oenocarpus bataua'' Mart. — Panama, Trinidad, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, the Guianas - '' mingucha'', '' ungurahui'' * '' Oenocarpus circumtextus'' Mart. - Colombia, Amazonas State of Brazil * '' Oenocarpus distichus'' Mart. - Bolivia, Peru, Brazil * '' Oenocarpus makeru'' R.Bernal, Galeano & A.J.Hend. - Colombia * '' Oenocarpus mapora'' H.Karst. - Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Panama, Costa Rica - (= ''O. multicaulis, O. panamanus'') * '' Oenocarpus minor'' Mart. - Colombia, Amazonas State of Brazil * '' Oenocarpus simplex'' R.Bernal, Galeano & A.J.Hend. - Colombia, Amazonas State of Brazil

References

Arecaceae genera Flora of the Neotropical realm {{tree-stub