Barcella
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| Barcella | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Barcella odora |
Barcella is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in the Amazonas region of Brazil. The only species is Barcella odora which is used by Brazilian locals in construction and for various thatched goods.
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[edit] Description
The unarmed trunks of Barcella odora usually remain underground, producing 2 m arching leaves with pendent, lanceolate leaflets, 60 cm long and dark green in color. The leaflets are regularly arranged along the rachis, once-folded, with a prominent midrib and a tapering apex. They are monoecious with male and female flowers on a single plant, the interfoliar inflorescences are once branched with both pistilate and staminate flowers containing three sepals and three petals. The 3 cm ovoid fruit mature to a bright orange color each with one seed.
Barcella and the closely related Elaeis genus form a taxon within Cocoeae represented by their large pistilate flowers sunken in the rachillae, as well as endocarp pores. Elaaeis is distinguished from Barcella by the presence of petiole spines and a fibrous, rather than woody, bract.[2]
[edit] Distribution and habitat
These palms are found at low altitudes along the Rio Negro river and its tributaries, growing in sandy scrubland.[3]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ (Trail) Trail ex Drude in Martius, Flora Brasiliensis 3(2):459. 1881 Type:B. odora
- ^ Uhl, Natalie W. and Dransfield, John (1987) Genera Palmarum - A classification of palms based on the work of Harold E. Moore. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press. ISBN-10: ISBN-10: 0935868305 / ISBN-13: 978-0935868302
- ^ Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN-10: 0881925586 / ISBN-13: 978-0881925586
