Mauritiella
Encyclopedia
Mauritiella is a dioecious genus
of flowering plant
in the palm
family found in South America
where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related Mauritia
genus.
s at the base. A. aculeata tends to be smaller, with trunk diameters around 10 cm, M. armata and M. macroclada trunks reach 25 - 30 cm; all three retain persistent leaf bases towards the top of the stem. Each 1 m leaf
of a mature tree is palmate with a brief costa, borne on a long petiole, and divided into numerous, deep segments; leaves of juvenile trees are flattened and much less divided. Bright to deep green, the foliage has silvery, glaucous undersides.
The inflorescence
is usually solitary, interfoliar, with male and female units represented in separate plants. The round fruit
is usually one-seed
ed and covered in red to brown scales with a thick, fleshy mesocarp. The seed is spherical or oblong, basally attached, with an elongated apical knob.
s and watercourses, in rain forest and in cleared or open savanna
. M. aculeata grows on the banks of the Orinoco
and its tributaries in Venezuela
, Colombia
, and Brazil
, M. marcolada inhabits the western slopes of the Andes
in Colombia and Ecuador
to an elevation of 900 m, with M. armata being the most widespread, found throughout Amazonia
and adjacent uplands, alongside streams and rivers. Usually found at low elevations, M. armata also thrives in mountainous Guyana
to elevations of 1400 m. In habitat, the leaves are used in roof construction and the fruit is eaten.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
family found in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related Mauritia
Mauritia
Mauritia is a genus of fan palms which is native to northern South America. Mauritia flexuosa is widely distribution across northern South America, extending north to Trinidad, while the other M. carana is restricted to the Amazon region....
genus.
Description
From 7.5 to 18 m tall, the trunks are clustering and armed with small spines, usually with stilt rootRoot
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s at the base. A. aculeata tends to be smaller, with trunk diameters around 10 cm, M. armata and M. macroclada trunks reach 25 - 30 cm; all three retain persistent leaf bases towards the top of the stem. Each 1 m leaf
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
of a mature tree is palmate with a brief costa, borne on a long petiole, and divided into numerous, deep segments; leaves of juvenile trees are flattened and much less divided. Bright to deep green, the foliage has silvery, glaucous undersides.
The inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is usually solitary, interfoliar, with male and female units represented in separate plants. The round fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is usually one-seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
ed and covered in red to brown scales with a thick, fleshy mesocarp. The seed is spherical or oblong, basally attached, with an elongated apical knob.
Distribution and habitat
Mauritiella palms are found throughout South America's northern half on mountains, alongside riverRiver
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s and watercourses, in rain forest and in cleared or open savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
. M. aculeata grows on the banks of the Orinoco
Orinoco
The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...
and its tributaries in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, M. marcolada inhabits the western slopes of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in Colombia and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
to an elevation of 900 m, with M. armata being the most widespread, found throughout Amazonia
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
and adjacent uplands, alongside streams and rivers. Usually found at low elevations, M. armata also thrives in mountainous Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
to elevations of 1400 m. In habitat, the leaves are used in roof construction and the fruit is eaten.