While I was in Porto Velho, Rondonia week last Monday I saw these Oenocarpus Mapora planted in the street islands of a major avenue in town. These palms are not used much for landscaping here. But, they did look quite nice. My mother in law claims that they are dwarf variety of the bacabainha (O. mapora). I did get some seed to germinate to plant at my country place. They are a pretty fast growing palm for tropical locations. I have no idea how tall these get. Some of the O. mapora get pretty tall when old.

They are cousins of the Euterpes and do well in similar climates.

DK, those look great and have a new red leaf to boot. Are they tropical in their requirements, or will they do well, say in South Florida?

Jake,

I would say that they would grow ok in South Florida. Not as well as around here, but they should do ok. Where you can grow Euterpe olearcea they should do ok.

dk

Bacabinhas muito bonitinhas Don...Nice photos!

The first two solitary individuals in your picture with reddish emergent fronds look like they are Oenocarpus balickii, a species endemic to this region of Porto Velho, in western Rondonia and east Acre state, according to the pictures and descriptions in Lorenzi's book. The other existing dwarf species, Oenocarpus minor, is usually a heavy chumper like O. mapora and the natural habitat stretches northwards to Amazonas and Pará states. The next pictures suggest clumping palms, or maybe groups(?).

These palms are difficult species for cultivation here in Recife, demanding organic decomposed soil and they are usually slow growers at seedling stage. I've heard they've crossed O. bacaba × O. minor in Belém, Pará state (Museu Emílio Goeldi) and named it Oenocarpus x andersonii but I haven't seen a picture of this hybrid yet. I've been trying to establish Oenocarpus here in the NE coast because I love their spectacular batches of fruit, in long coloured horse tail rachis arrangement, especially in O. distichus.

Gileno,

I should be back in Porto Velho in a few weeks. I can send you some seeds when I am there. I believe all the palms in the picture were clumping. We have the O. minor in the forest around here and they are quite slender trees. The O. bacaba is quite common here. I can even send you some seedlings of the bacaba if you want. I have a lot of them. I should be taking a road trip in December from Porto Velho to Vilhena on the Mato Grosso state line. I know that in the area from Cacoal to Vilhena the O. distichus is quite common. Maybe I can find some with fruit. I really like this family of trees and with fruit they are beautiful.

dk

Don, they're gorgeous. I'm going to try O batua here one day. They're a species I haven't really considered before, much like the high altitude Wettinia's.

Thanks for the pics.

Best regards

Tyrone

Oenocarpus baccaba was growing well at Whyanbeel but never set any seed . A real shame as it is an attractive clumper I would love to grow . I must ask Peter to check it for seeds as it may have matured enough now . I have seen it in a another garden labelled as O panamanus . Thanks for showing some more interesting ones Don .

Don,

those Oenacarpus don't look like mapora to me, but at the same time I don't know what they are. They are too stout to be minor which mapora may be confused with. But then again those pictured palms are sort of fat even for mapora. Apart from the height, other attribute that is against mapora is arrangement of the leaflets (pinnae). Mapora is supposed to have the first two thirds of the leaflets in irregular clusters spreading in different planes and the last third (towards the apex) leaflets are in the same plane (Henderson 1995). I don't see any plumose leaves in your pictures which together with the height suggest it could be minor with also sports clustered trunks and has leaflets in one plane. You know both mapora and minor are called "bacabinha". The seed size could reveal the species. Mapora has seeds 2-3 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm diameter (red in colour) while minor has seeds 1.5-2 cm long and 1.3-1.5 cm diameter (purple black). Henderson mentions also 3 hybrids so I guess other hybrids (for example mapora x minor) are possible. Does anybody know if minor also have leaves reddish when young?

Cheers, Jan

Don,

those Oenacarpus don't look like mapora to me, but at the same time I don't know what they are. They are too stout to be minor which mapora may be confused with. But then again those pictured palms are sort of fat even for mapora. Apart from the height, other attribute that is against mapora is arrangement of the leaflets (pinnae). Mapora is supposed to have the first two thirds of the leaflets in irregular clusters spreading in different planes and the last third (towards the apex) leaflets are in the same plane (Henderson 1995). I don't see any plumose leaves in your pictures which together with the height suggest it could be minor with also sports clustered trunks and has leaflets in one plane. You know both mapora and minor are called "bacabinha". The seed size could reveal the species. Mapora has seeds 2-3 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm diameter (red in colour) while minor has seeds 1.5-2 cm long and 1.3-1.5 cm diameter (purple black). Henderson mentions also 3 hybrids so I guess other hybrids (for example mapora x minor) are possible. Does anybody know if minor also have leaves reddish when young?

Cheers, Jan

Jan,

Thanks for the comments. Those are good points you raise. The O. minor is quite slender and is common in some parts of our forest here. It does not clump that I know of. The fruits of all the palms called bacaba our bacabinha that I have seen have simlar fruits. And, are consumed by making juices in the same fashion. The O. bataua does not have red new leaves as far as I have seen. Around here the clumping bacabinha is only found in cultivation as far as I know. That is in the Manaus area.

dk

Jan,

Thanks for the comments. Those are good points you raise. The O. minor is quite slender and is common in some parts of our forest here. It does not clump that I know of. The fruits of all the palms called bacaba our bacabinha that I have seen have simlar fruits. And, are consumed by making juices in the same fashion. The O. bataua does not have red new leaves as far as I have seen. Around here the clumping bacabinha is only found in cultivation as far as I know. That is in the Manaus area.

dk

Don,

that's interesting. Henderson states minors can be both solitaires or clumping but being aware of the variation within the palmae world, it could be those in Manaus grow only as solitaires. Have you meant to say minor doesn't have red new leaves instead of bataua? If minor doesn't grow new red leaves, then the pictured specimens are probably mapora. Either way they are stunning palms! Looking forward to seeing more photos from your part of the world.

Cheers, Jan

That is a real beauty Don.

I believe Oenocarpus would be marginal in south Florida

Don, according to Martius Oenocarpus minor is a solitaire species which would confirm your observation.

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, August Wilhelm Eichler, and Ignatz Urban - Flora Brasiliensis

Vol. III, Part II, Fasc. 86 Column 471 - 472 Published in 1882, May 1

(I am sorry; I've never known how to cite this work properly)

GIDDAY DON , was talking about this sp. with Lowey [ Bruce ] when he visited me last weekend . Seems I had the names confused in my earlier reply to this thread .

Have you taken a picture of any solitary Oenocarpus spp recently ?

Bacabinhas muito bonitinhas Don...Nice photos!

The first two solitary individuals in your picture with reddish emergent fronds look like they are Oenocarpus balickii, a species endemic to this region of Porto Velho, in western Rondonia and east Acre state, according to the pictures and descriptions in Lorenzi's book. The other existing dwarf species, Oenocarpus minor, is usually a heavy chumper like O. mapora and the natural habitat stretches northwards to Amazonas and Pará states. The next pictures suggest clumping palms, or maybe groups(?).

These palms are difficult species for cultivation here in Recife, demanding organic decomposed soil and they are usually slow growers at seedling stage. I've heard they've crossed O. bacaba × O. minor in Belém, Pará state (Museu Emílio Goeldi) and named it Oenocarpus x andersonii but I haven't seen a picture of this hybrid yet. I've been trying to establish Oenocarpus here in the NE coast because I love their spectacular batches of fruit, in long coloured horse tail rachis arrangement, especially in O. distichus.

Don, as Gileno mentions above, what about the possibility of this being Oenocarpus balickii? I checked the photos and description in Lorenzi's new book BRAZILIAN FLORA - Arecaceae (Palms) and it sure looks similar. Anyway, something to think about.

Gileno,

I should be back in Porto Velho in a few weeks. I can send you some seeds when I am there. I believe all the palms in the picture were clumping. We have the O. minor in the forest around here and they are quite slender trees. The O. bacaba is quite common here. I can even send you some seedlings of the bacaba if you want. I have a lot of them. I should be taking a road trip in December from Porto Velho to Vilhena on the Mato Grosso state line. I know that in the area from Cacoal to Vilhena the O. distichus is quite common. Maybe I can find some with fruit. I really like this family of trees and with fruit they are beautiful.

dk

Don, very interesting. How do you usually travel from Manaus to Porto Velho? Is the highway paved? Also, how is the road from Porto Velho to Vilhena (on the Mato Grosso state line) and what is the approximate driving time? Sounds like an interesting part of Brasil to visit and check the palms as well.

those are amazingly cool!!! :drool:

Gileno,

I should be back in Porto Velho in a few weeks. I can send you some seeds when I am there. I believe all the palms in the picture were clumping. We have the O. minor in the forest around here and they are quite slender trees. The O. bacaba is quite common here. I can even send you some seedlings of the bacaba if you want. I have a lot of them. I should be taking a road trip in December from Porto Velho to Vilhena on the Mato Grosso state line. I know that in the area from Cacoal to Vilhena the O. distichus is quite common. Maybe I can find some with fruit. I really like this family of trees and with fruit they are beautiful.

dk

Don, very interesting. How do you usually travel from Manaus to Porto Velho? Is the highway paved? Also, how is the road from Porto Velho to Vilhena (on the Mato Grosso state line) and what is the approximate driving time? Sounds like an interesting part of Brasil to visit and check the palms as well.

I'm booting this up to see if Don K. might see and reply to this.

Al,

Regarding going to Porto Velho I take the plane. It is an hour trip. You could go by boat but that takes more than a week. And, you actually can drive the road if you are prepared and have a decent 4 x 4. About 450 kms of the road is in total disrepair and has been for over 20 years. There is on going talk of fixing it. But, so far only the parts closest to Porto Velho and Manaus have been fixed up. There is a lot of contoversy about environmental degradadtion. IBAMA the federal agency that oversees all environmental matter has not issued the license for the highway yet. One of the requirement is the structuring of parks and preserves along the roads path and staffing them with agents to control illegal logging, deforestation, ranching, etc. This debate has been going on for almost a decade now. The road to Mato Grosso, BR 364 is in realitvely good condition. It has very heavy traffic of trucks, buses, and cars. In fact it should be made into a four lane highway. The state of Rondonia is going through a boom in part instigated by the construction of two giant hydroelectric projects. Unlike Amazonas state the cities in the interior of Rondonia are quite prosperous.

That Oenocarpus could be the O. balickii. There is an Oenocarpus called a bacabinha that grows in the forests around Manaus which I believe is the O. minor. It is single stemmed and quite delicate. I plan on putting some on my place in the country.

Michael,

I will go take some pictures of the O. bacaba. There are some growing in a vacant lot close to my house. I have a lot of seedlings that have sprouted up in the secondary forest part of my place in the country.

dk

Don, I believe I have some seedlings from these palms in your photos. When you visited me in December of 2008, you gave me some Oenocarpus species seeds and said you had posted photos of the palms on PT. Actually you gave me two different kinds of Oenocarpus seeds and I have plants from both of them now.

BTW, 3 of the Mauritia flexuosa seeds germinated and grew great for about a year, then I transplanted them into larger pots and all three declined and died. Jose Maria knows where some are growing and seeding here in Costa Rica so I will try them again sometime when I can collect some more seeds.

Jeff,

I didn't repot my Mauritia. I planted mine in their individual 200mm pots, and then leave them until I plant them in the ground. From what I have heard, they don't like root disturbance. I planted 1, doing great until the horses decided to have a chew... but it has recovered since then. The rest will go in soon... as a grove in the back.

Don,

Those Oenocarpus are unbelivable!!! I don't know how I missed this thread the first time!!!

Regards, Ari

Jeff,

I am sorry to hear about the Mauritias. I think they are a bit delicate to transplant. Yes some of the seeds I gave you are from these trees. The others are Oenocarpus bacaba. I have two seedlings from the same batch in the ground and they are doing ok.

Ari,

I am happy to hear your Mauritias are doing well.

dk