Prestoea carderi (W.Bull) Hook.f.

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution

Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 1000 - 2000 m.; Andes.

Morphology General Habit

Subarbusto, arbusto, palma cespitosa

Conservation

Casi Amenazada

Distribution

Cordillera Central and Oriental in Colombia (Antioquia, Caquetá, Putumayo, Tolima), western Cordillera de la Costa (Yaracuy) in Venezuela, and eastern Andean slopes in Ecuador (Morona-Santiago, Pastaza, Santiago-Zamora) and Peru (Amazonas, Huánuco); steep slopes in cloud forest at 1000-1950 m. Patchy in mountain areas in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, at 1000-2000 m elevation. In Ecuador it is known from a few localities on the E Andean slopes.

General Description

Stems cespitose with 1 or 2 well-developed stems, or occasionally appearing solitary and then with basal shoots, 0.5-4 m tall, 3-4(-10) cm diam., brown, occasionally procumbent. Leaves 3-6( -10), spreading. regularly pinnate or occasionally simple; sheath open and not forming a crownshaft, somewhat persistent, 30-60 cm long including a ligule to 5 cm long, reddish, fibrous distally at margins; petiole (0.3-)0.9-2.5 m long, ± terete, densely covered with appressed, peltate-lacerate scales, glabrescent, or glabrous; rachis 1-2.4 m (22-48 cm in simple leaves) long, with scales like those of petiole; pinnae (on pinnate leaves) 13-36(-54) on each side, regularly arranged and horizontally spreading in the same plane, subopposite or alternate, linear-lanceolate, aristate, with prominent midvein and lateral veins, midvein lacking scales abaxially, with punctations abaxially, basal pinna 32-60 x (0.2-)1-1.5 cm; middle pinnae 35-70(-90) x 2-4.5(-6) cm; apical pinna 17-35 x 1-4 cm; simple leaves obovate, 38-87 cm long, 20-28 cm wide, bifid apically, with 16-20 main veins per side. Inflorescences racemose, interfoliar, erect in bud and at anthesis, arching in fruit; peduncle (0.4)-0.8-1 .4 m long, 4-10(-20) mm diam., terete; prophyll 18- 55 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide; peduncular bract (0.6-)1-2.2 m long including a 5-6 cm long umbo, persistent; rachis 18-66 cm long, densely to moderately covered with reddish brown, branched hairs; rachilae (7-)21-59 (-l01), 8.5-27 cm long proximally, 4-10 cm long distally, ca. 1 mm diam. at anthesis, 1.5-1.7 mm diam. In fruit, slightly zig-zag, angular and almost rectangular in cross section, tending to be distichously arranged, especially distally, densely to moderately covered with clusters of reddish brown, branched hairs (occasionally glabrous); flowers in triads on proximal ca. ½, rachillae, paired or solitary staminate distally, the triads tending to distichously arranged on the rachillae; triad bracteole low, rounded to prominent, deltate, to 1 mm long; first flower bracteole obscure, second and third bracteoles ± equal, rounded, 0.5 mm long; staminate flowers 3.5-5.5 mm long; sepals triangular, 1-1.5 mm long, keeled; petals ovate, 2.5- 5 mm long; stamens arranged on a short receptacle; filaments 1.5 mm long, linear, flattened; anthers 1-2 mm long; pistillode 0.5- 1 mm long, trifid at apex; pistillate flowers 2-3.5 mm long; sepals widely ovate, 1.5-2 mm long, fleshy; petals triangular, 1-3.5 mm long; staminodes digitate. Fruits globose, 0.7-1 cm diam., the stigmatic remains lateral; epicarp purpleblack, minutely tuberculate; seeds globose; endosperm ruminate; eophyll bifid. Understorey palm. Stems solitary or clustered, very short, ca. 5 cm in diameter. Leaf sheaths open, green; petiole 80-120 cm long; blade 100-200 cm long; pinnae 15-30 on each side, the central ones 35-70 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, abruptly narrowed at the tip into long filamentous point. Inflorescence with peduncle 50-140 cm long; rachis 20-70 cm long, with 20-60 short branches, 10-25 cm long. Fruits black, globose, 7-10 mm in diameter. Seedling leaves bifid.

Vernacular

Ecuador: palmita; Peru: chucshomasha.