In search of the elusive Barcella odora

[amazondk]

On Saturdy September 18 I took a quick trip up to Roraima, 350 kms north of Manaus on highway BR 174 in search of seeds of the Barcella odora. I am helping Dr. Couvet in Reunion Island obtain some species for his collection. I did not know if their would be ripe seeds or not when I got there. I knew where the trees were as I had found them on my many trips for work up north to Roraima. I had not been back there for two years though. So at 5 AM on Saturday I set out on the road with a coworker of mine who lives down in Curitiba. He was in Manaus for an important meeting we had on Friday and took advantage of an opportunity to get to know a bit of Amazonia.

The first stop was a favorite place of mine about 120 kms north of Manaus. I have posted a few pictures of this spot before. I love the grouping of palms on the hillshide.

BR 174 in Amazonas

In this picture are Mauritia flexuosa, Euterpe precatoria, Oenocarpus bacaba;

[amazondk]

Still at the same spot I had to take a few more E. precatoria pictures. This is probably my favorite palm along with the Mauritia flexuosa.

This plam was in a field on a hilside about 80 kms up the road near the indian reservation. I do not know what it is. Maybe someone can ID it.

The entry to the Waimire Atroari indian reservation. Here is a link with information about this tribe - Waimiri Atroari Indians

[amazondk]

A short way into the reservation there is a map showing the villages and layout of the reservation. It is a very large area with a poplulation of less than 2,000 indians. You are prohibited from taking pictures of the indians along the road. And, are advised not to stop unless necessary.

A little further up the road is a sign which counts animal fatalities on the highway.

A monkey bridge of trees across the road.

[amazondk]

My travel mate Rafael on the bridge over the Alalaú river which runs along the state lines of Roraima and Amazonas.

The Alalaú River. It must be a great river to travel on and the fishing must be spectacular. But, that is reserved only for the indians.

The start of the Roriama portion of the highway. The road is in poor repair, as it has been since I started going up there 5 years ago. There is now a project to totally redo the highway and hopefully things will improve. It is 139 kms across the reservation.

[amazondk]

A few roadside plams in the reservation. My favorites the Mauritia flexuosa, buriti.

[amazondk]

We finally arrived at our destination at about 11 AM. The Barcella odora palm is found in Campina forest. These areas are found throughout the region and have low and open vegetation on poor sandy soils. There are a lot of these areas along the Negro River basin. This area is an area of tributaries of the Negro. The large amount of sand found in the region is from the wasting of the Guyana higlands mountains. About 100 meters from this spot the primary forest starts. Campina is found in scattered spots all around. I think that the Barcella also may be found nearer to Manaus in the area where my wife grew up.

The Barela odora.

[amazondk]

I just noticed that I posted the same picture twice in post number 1. Sorry for that.

dk

[amazondk]

The first thing I found were some old infloresences with no fruit.

Then I found a nice bunch of nice un ripe fruits. I had hopes of finding ripe fruit as I walked around the area.

[BS Man about Palms]

WOW! Great habitat shots!!

[paulgila]

amazing stuff,don!!!

the euterpe shots alone are worth all the "trouble" of clicking all the way over to the

travel section

too bad more people dont do it,they are missing some great pix here!

ps: they dont seem THAT elusive,they just sat there in plain sight when you drove up with cameras ready

[amazondk]

Bill,

I am glad you enjoyed the trip. There is more to come.

Paul,

I love Euterpes and there are a lot of them around here. It is interesting that the Barcella was supposed to be found only around the city of Barcelos which is about 400 kms from Manaus up the Negro River. In fact I think that this palm is probably more widely distributed in the region than previously thought. I actually thought about putting this thread in the Discussing Palm forum. But, in realit it is a Travel thread.

dk

[ariscott]

Don,

What a nice palm!!! Do they trunk? or do they stay that size?? I love the droopy leaves with thicker leaflets than Euterpe. So, did you find any seeds?

Regards, Ari

[amazondk]

Ari,

I think it is a nice palm too. I dug up some seedlings that I have planted in a pot at home that seem to be surviving. And, I found I think 6 fruits that were nearly ripe that I am going to send to Dr. Couvet in Reunion Island.. There were quite a few trees with infloresences though.. I think that most of the fruit will get ripe around June or so. I don´t know how long it will take from flower to fruit. But, I suppose it takes some time. I think that grouped in the landscape they will make a real nice effect. Do you want seeds when I find enough?

dk

[ariscott]

Only when you find enough... no hurry & no pressure

Regards, Ari

[amazondk]

These fruits are now turning orange and I am sending them to Reunion.

A small palm with an infloresence.

Another flowering tree.

[amazondk]

Some othe type of clumping palm growing in the area.

Other plants in the vegetation.

[amazondk]

A gringo palm collector in Habitat.

Barcella ordora seedlings.

[amazondk]

The car was parked on a road leading into the forest. So I decided to drive in a ways to see what I found.

The road got narrower until I decided to go no farther. At this point we were entering primary forest, terra firme forest, and no longer in the campina vegetation. So we got out and took a walk in the woods. I do not adventure much off of a road without a guide because it is real easy to end up lost in the forest and walk for days in circles.

A small Euterpe precatoria.

An Oenocarpus bacaba leaf.

[Nigel]

Hi Don, why the wellies ?? Nice pics, looks very different there to here !!

Take care, as you know gringos go to cadeia for digging up native plants........ I am always looking over my shoulder !!

[amazondk]

Nigel,

You mean the rubber boots. Although they are uncomfortable they are decent protection against most snake bites. I did not see a snake, but I am always on the lookout as there are a few around.

I haven´t seen anyone go to jail around here anyway. In fact just before this area as you come out of the indian reservation there is a police check point at the tax stop, SEFAZ. This is for value added tax as you enter Roraima. Since the road is a major drug conduit south from Colombia via Venezuela they have beefed up the police presence and your car gets checked by the state military police along with the federal police, and state civil police at this point both ways. In the trunk of my car was a shovel, a tarp, and the garden trowel. On the way back I had a bucket with palm seedlings in the back seat as well. The only thing they were interested in was my camera on the way up. The federal police office wanted to know if it was new. I told him I wished it was. Now if I had my car full of orchids I might get nervous.

dk

[amazondk]

Various species of tibochinas are found in the forests here.

All of a sudden the outline of another palm I was looking for caught my eye, the Irartella setigera. Unfortunately the memory in my camera got full at this time and I did not figure out that this was the problem until I left the area so I do not have as good of pictures as I would like of the plants there. I would have taken a lot more. One of the Iratellas was full of ripe seeds that I collected.

A small Iratella.

This picture is out of focus, but it is interesting. I think it is an Iratella seedling, but it may not be either.

[amazondk]

The primary forest is quite open and an incredible place full of palms in the understory. This is a Geonoma I believe, locally called Ubim.

More Iratella. This is such a nice palm. There are a lot of them on my father in laws place up the Negro River. I plan on putting a ot of them in the understory on my country place in the forest area.

A small Oenocraus bacaba

[amazondk]

The trip back home. At the north entrance to the indian reservation a truck with a container bound for Boa Vista just arriving. The drive home was nice. And, I only hit a few holes in the road. But, the impact was enough to mess up the front rims a bit.

In the reservation I could not resist taking these pictures of Euterpes. I think they are Euterpe catinga since they are different than the E. precatoria. And, they are not E. olearcea which should not be growing wild in this area.

They are such beautiful palms. That is the end of the trip and was a nice way to spend the weekend. It is always great to get out and enjoy the beauty of Amazonia.

[ariscott]

Beautiful!! That tibouchina is amazing!! How large are the leaves? They look huge!! The other palms... some of them I never heard before... Thanks for sharing, Don.

Regards, Ari

[bubba]

Don, Always amazing shots. There is something about the Equator. Are the Indians friendly?

[amazondk]

Ari,

The tibouchina leaves were about 10 cms long. I love the leaves.

Bubba,

The indians attacked the workers when the road was originally built and killed some people. But, that was quite a while ago in the 1970s. Before the road was built there were 3,000 some people in the tribe. This dwindled to under 400 people after the road opened. Today there are about 1,600 indians. When people stray into their rivers they confiscate the boats and everything on board. They have motor boats and Mitsubishi 4 x 4 pickups. They are quite friendly at the craft shop at the entrances. A fiber optic cable is now being laid to bring broad band to Manaus from Venezuela connecting to the cable to the USA. The indians got a few million USD for the right of passage and will have all the villages linked to broad band now. So, they will all be on the internet in real time.

The equator is a great place. At least in this part of the world.

dk

[paulgila]

truly an enjoyable thread! thanks don!

[realarch]

Yeah Don, there is something about the equatorial regions especially those of Central and South America. I've really

loved my trips there and hope to do a few more. Maybe Manaus one of these days.

[amazondk]

Paul,

I am glad you enjoyed the trip. It was an enjoyable day. I need to do something similar more often.

Tim,

I hope to see you here some day. And, by then I hope to have some structure to the country place and a boat to cruise around the river in.

dk

[Nigel]

Nigel,

You mean the rubber boots. Although they are uncomfortable they are decent protection against most snake bites. I did not see a snake, but I am always on the lookout as there are a few around.

dk

I ought to get a pair really, I have often seen a jararaca on the dunes when I go messing with the palms, but they like to climb the palm and sit in the boots too.....

I dont think the military police worry about a few plants. I dont know about there, but I occasionally see the plant police here,they drive around patrolling, and often pass by the dunes where I collect seeds and have embarked on a hybridisation programme

[amazondk]

Nigel,

You have just as many snakes down there as here. So, it is wise to have some protection sometimes. I don´t like the boots because they are hot and your feet sweat a lot. So, I only use them in areas where I need to. We have the Policia Militar Ambiental, Environmental police, here that run around in green 4 x 4 Nissans. But, they are looking to make extra money more than enforcing the law most of the time. When I was loading ocean containers to ship lumber to the Northeast of Brazil they used to bother me all the time to see if the documents were in order and material declared properly in the IBAMA system. They never were able to find anything wrong so they sort of went away.

dk

[John Case]

Don,

Thanks for a great and educational thread!

Feel free to send me all of your excess seeds...I have access to a greenhouse in which to nurture them....

[Nigel]

Nigel,

We have the Policia Militar Ambiental, Environmental police, here that run around in green 4 x 4 Nissans.

Yes thats them, I forgot the name , green 4x4,s here too....... but I think here they are not corrupt ..... my brasilain business partner scares me to death telling me they will catch me and there is no mercy, the gringo will go direct to prison.

[epicure3]

Great pictures. Congrats on findning the Barcela. Very interesting, non-trunking palm.

[Xenon]

Love the Euterpe pictures

Jonathan

[daxin]

Is the fragrance from Barcella odora any good ? or even detectable? It is surprising that such a compact and beautiful palm with fragrant flowers can stay out of cultivation for so long.

Edited September 25, 2010 by daxin

[amazondk]

Is the fragrance from Barcella odora any good ? or even detectable? It is surprising that such a compact and beautiful palm with fragrant flowers can stay out of cultivation for so long.

I will check out the fragrance next time I visit the palms. I did not notice anything obvious though.

dk

[amazondk]

Love the Euterpe pictures

Jonathan

Jonathan,

I really love Euterpes. The E. precatoria is such a graceful tree and in it´s native habitat makes for a wonderful scene.

dk

[Al in Kona]

Yeah Don, there is something about the equatorial regions especially those of Central and South America. I've really

loved my trips there and hope to do a few more. Maybe Manaus one of these days.

I can only repeat what Tim has to say (above) about tropical America. All trips I've taken there have been pleasant and interesting and of course it does help if you can communicate some with the local people. Many years ago on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Leticia, Colombia we did make only an airport stop in Manaus. Your area and north to Venezuela is interestingly beautiful. However, if I ever got that far north I'd be so tempted to want to go see Angel Falls in Venezuela too! Have you ever thought about going there or do you know of anyone visiting that area?

And for sharing your trips with us on Palmtalk, 'muito obrigado' (thanks so much).

[amazondk]

Al,

I would love to go to Angel Falls. It is not really too easy to get to from here though. I would also like to go to Monte Roraima which is part of the lost world type mountains in the same general area on the Brazilian border. You have to go into Venezuela and then hike to the mountain. A part of Amazonas that I want to go to the is the northwest part of the state, called the dogs head, which borders on Colombia. and Venezuela. This area has the highest mountain in Brazil, Pico da Neblina, and must be a fascinating area. But, it is also hard to get to. I do know people who have hiked up there.

dk