Barcella

Barcella is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in the States of Amazonas and Roraima in northwestern Brazil.[2] The only known species is Barcella odora which is used by the Brazilian peoples in construction and for various thatched goods.

Barcella
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Arecoideae
Tribe: Cocoseae
Genus: Barcella
(Trail) Trail ex Drude [1]
Species:
B. odora
Binomial name
Barcella odora
(Trail) Drude
Synonyms[2]

Elaeis odora Trail

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 genus Elaeis form a taxon within Cocoseae represented by their large pistilate flowers sunken in the rachillae, as well as endocarp pores. Elaeis is distinguished from Barcella by the presence of petiole spines and a fibrous, rather than woody, bract.[3]

Distribution and habitat

These palms are found at low altitudes along the Rio Negro river and its tributaries, growing in campinarana (sandy scrubland).[4]

References

  1. (Trail) Trail ex Drude in Martius, Flora Brasiliensis 3(2):459. 1881 Type:B. odora
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. 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 0-935868-30-5 / ISBN 978-0-935868-30-2
  4. Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-558-6 / ISBN 978-0-88192-558-6
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