Astrocaryum standleyanum

Astrocaryum standleyanum

The black palm (Astrocaryum standleyanum L.H.Bailey) is an arboreal species belonging to the Arecaceae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Magnoliophyta division,
Class Liliopsida,
Subclass Arecidae,
Arecales Order,
Arecaceae family,
Subfamily Arecoideae,
Tribe Cocoseae,
Subtribe Bactridinae,
Genus Astrocaryum,
Species A. standleyanum.
The terms are synonyms:
– Astrocaryum standleyanum var. calimense Dugand;
– Astrocaryum trachycarpum Burret.

Etymology –
The term Astrocaryum comes from the Greek ἄστρον, astron, i.e. star and κάρυον, karion, i.e. nut, nucleus, seed, with reference to the star-shaped design of the fibers around the pores of the endocarp.
The specific epithet standleyanum is in honor of the American botanist Paul Carpenter Standley (1884-1963) who classified many species of plants in the USA, Mexico and Central America.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Astrocaryum standleyanum is a palm native to Central and South America, with a distribution extending from Nicaragua to Ecuador and present in Central America, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. It is most common in central Panama, also becoming abundant in the tropical forests around the Panama Canal, but in general it is not a common plant.
Its natural habitat is that of the lowland humid rainforest, usually on imperfectly drained soils at altitudes usually lower than 200 meters but exceptionally present up to 900 meters of altitude.

Description –
Astrocaryum standleyanum is a monoecious, monocaulescent, evergreen palm that grows up to 15 – 20 meters in height.
The trunk has a diameter ranging from 18 to 25 centimeters and is densely covered with sharp, flattened black spines up to 20 centimeters long. The trunk is modeled with the marks of fallen leaves. The spines are distributed among these leaf scars on the trunk.
The leaf petioles, leaf edges, and peduncles bearing fruit clusters have smaller spines.
This palm is topped with about 15 mature leaves at a time. The pinnate frond is up to 4 meters long and typically has a palm-like appearance. Each leaf has many irregularly arranged, grouped and angled leaflets. The underside is glaucous. A mature, expanded leaf lasts about 4.5 years, and the plant grows 3 to 5 new leaves a year.
The plant becomes mature at 9-10 years of age, with flowering occurring during the rainy season.
The inflorescence is erect in the initial stage and composed of tiny white flowers, then folds and hangs as the fruits develop, with the 6-8 mm long female flowers, which ripen before the male ones, about 4 mm long, to promote cross pollination.
The fruiting season is from March to June, during which time a mature plant produces about 6 clusters of fruit. The bunch is a hanging spadix, which in optimal conditions contains about 500 fruits. Under less suitable conditions a spadix might only have 100 or so.
The fruit consists of a seed up to 3 centimeters wide covered by a pulpy orange pulp. One fruit weighs about 25 grams.

Cultivation –
Astrocaryum standleyanum is a palm that is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.
It is a very ornamental palm due to the large umbrella-shaped crown of feathered leaves which contrasts with the fairly slender stem, however it is not very common in cultivation, above all due to the dangerous thorns present in all parts of the plant. For this reason, the location in large parks and gardens must take this into account to avoid risky accidents to people.
This plant can be grown in warm tropical and subtropical areas, where the temperature never drops below 4 °C.
From the pedological point of view, it requires soils rich in humus, preferably acidic or neutral, kept constantly humid but very well drained to avoid stagnation at the roots.
It prefers shady positions and not very subject to the winds, especially when young, but with age it also adapts to positions in full sun.
The plant is often kept in pastures when forest is cleared for agriculture.
This palm easily reproduces by seed, which must be cleaned and kept in water for 48 hours, in fertile loam mixed with sand to improve drainage. It germinates in 2 months kept at temperatures between 24-28 °C.

Customs and Traditions –
Astrocaryum standleyanum is known by various local names; in the local Spanish-speaking populations it is called by various names, including: Chumba Wumba, Chonta, Chontadura, Coquillo, Palma negra, Pejibaye de montaña, Guerre, Güérregue, Güinul, Mocora, Pucaishchi, Giwa and Chunga. In English it is known as Mocora Palm, Panama Star-Nut Palm, Panama Black Oil Palm.
From a food point of view, both the fruits and the vegetative apexes used for the production of the so-called “hearts of palm” are used.
The fruit is edible and has a high nutritional value, especially in vitamins A, B and C.
Local populations obtain oil from fruits and seeds, also using it as a biofuel.
Among other uses, it should be remembered that wood is obtained from the plant for walking sticks, bows and fishing rods.
The fruits are fed to pigs.
This palm represents a very important fiber plant for many local populations. The Wounaa and Emberá peoples and indigenous groups of African descent, such as Afro-Colombians and Afro-Ecuadorians, are familiar with the plant. The fibers come from the leaves. They are used to make furniture, pitchers, plates, trays, coasters, vases, bags, hats, jewelry and accessories, hammocks and fishing nets. The fibers of the open leaves are used to make mats, while the less robust fibers of the immature leaves are used for basketry.
Most of the time, the fiber is harvested by cutting the fronds off the trees. Sometimes, though, trees are cut down, a more destructive practice. This species is widespread in its range, but in localized areas where fiber is required, its occurrence has decreased significantly.
Its state of conservation in most areas is unknown. In some parts of Ecuador it is maintained with tropical agroforestry practices. Some local people cultivate palm plots on their land alongside their crops.
Gathering the usable parts is often done with a machete, taking care of the collector to avoid the thorns. Instead of cutting down a tree, a harvester may use a crescent-shaped implement, a long pole with a curved blade at the end, to remove leaves. A bamboo pole with a chisel on the end can also be used. The Emberá prefer to harvest the plant during the full moon, when they feel the fibers are strongest. The leaf is split and two types of fibers can be extracted, a thick one useful for making basket frames, and a thinner one used for weaving. The fibers are washed and sun-dried, then sometimes dyed with extracts from other plants, bleached with sulfur, or buried in mud to darken them.
In wicker, the fibers may be woven together with fibers from the Nahuala palm (Carludovica palmata), a palm-like monocot.
With the exception of Ecuador, few products are used at home. Most are sold locally or in nearby bazaars or shipped internationally. There is a huge world market for handcrafted plant fiber products, with the main importers being Japan and the United States. For this reason it is considered one of the most economically important palms in Ecuador.
From an ecological point of view the fruits of this palm are highly appetizing for many species of animals, such as agoutis, squirrels, spiny rats, capuchins, opossums, pacas, coatis, peccaries, and tapeti rabbits. Some animals can navigate between thorns or reach fruit by leaping from other trees, as the capuchin does, but most pick up fruit that has fallen to the ground. The fruits were probably food for large mammals such as gomphotheres thousands of years ago. Animals disperse its seeds.
The Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) plays an important role in the life cycle of the plant. It is one of the most important food sources for this agouti species. This rodent collects fruits and hides the seeds, burying them in the ground. He is constantly interested in its hiding places and often digs up seeds to bury them elsewhere. An agouti usually steals another’s cache, transporting seeds to new locations. Researchers who tracked hidden seeds saw a seed move 36 times before it was eaten. The behavior is known as scatter-hoarding. This helps distribute the palm throughout the forest. Since the plant’s fruiting season is about four months of the year, the agouti makes up a large part of its diet with seeds hidden for the rest of the year. The Central American spiny rat (Proechimys semispinosus) is also known to spread and hoard seeds. Other animals, such as ants, play an unclear role as they destroy the seeds as they consume the fruit. Most fruits are infested with caterpillar beetles, but bark beetles are more effective predators of seeds on the plant.

Method of Preparation –
The Astrocaryum standleyanum is a very important palm in the economy of some countries of Central and South America.
Both the fruits and the vegetative apexes are consumed for food purposes.
the production of the so-called “hearts of palm”.
Heart of palm provides a crunchy, nutrient-rich food that can be eaten raw or cooked. however the removal of this shoot leads to the death of the plant because it is unable to produce lateral shoots.
The petioles and leaf rachis are used to make walking sticks, bows and fishing rods.
The trunks are used to build houses.
Two types of fibers are obtained from the young leaves, a thicker one used to produce hand-woven handicraft products such as the so-called “wicker” artifacts, and a thinner one used in looms for weaving mats, hammocks and fishing nets.
The preparation of the fibers for commercial purposes involves the removal of the spines, the boiling and the following drying in the sun, the blanching with sulfur and the cutting into strips of equal width.
The fibers treated in this way are subsequently woven into bands, with which different types of accessories are made such as placemats, trays, coasters, vases, baskets, jugs, bags, hats and even jewellery, sold both locally and to international distributors.
Originally the plants were cut down to use the various parts but with the decrease in the number of individuals the natives have learned to preserve them by building long poles of bamboo canes with a sharp blade (machete) tied to the end, with which they easily cut the leaves and the fruits of the plant.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/72079085/original.jpeg

Attention: The pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not in any way represent a medical prescription; we therefore decline all responsibility for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.