Arecaceae
Aiphanes

Aiphanes lindeniana (H.Wendl.) H.Wendl.

First published in O.C.E.de Kerchove de Denterghem, Palmiers: 230 (1878)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central Colombia to NW. Venezuela. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is used for food.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/38943/10158352

Conservation
VU - vulnerable
[IUCN]

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. 1700 - 2200 m.; Andes.
Morphology General Habit
Arbusto, palma solitaria
Conservation
En Peligro
[CPLC]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 1700–2200 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Norte de Santander, Santander.
Habit
Shrub, Solitary palm.
Conservation
IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): VU B1+2c. National Red List of Colombia (2021): EN B1ab(iii).
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

General Description
Caespitose, with up to 10 stems, rarely 1-stemmed. Stems 1.5-7 m tall, 3-7(-10) cm diam., armed with black spines, to 10 cm long. Leaves 4-10, distichous or more rarely polystichous; sheath 15-42 cm long, densely armed with black spines, to 12 cm long; petiole 6-56 cm, with a white or brown, caducous indument, and numerous black spines, to 8 cm long; rachis 38-172 cm long, with indument and armature like that on the petiole, but spines fewer and shorter; pinnae 18-45 per side, inserted in groups of 2-7 separated by up to 11 cm, lanceolate to narrowly cuneate, (3.5-)5- 11 times as long as wide, often strongly plicate, truncate- or obliquely praemorse at apex, with an up to 2.5 cm long finger-like projection on the distal margin, nearly glabrous or spinulose, especially abaxially, margins lined with 1-2 mm long spinules, midrib adaxially with a row of thin spines, to 1 cm long, abaxially with 1-6 rigid spines, to 2.5 cm long; basal pinnae 6.5-20.5 x 0.6-1.5 cm; middle pinnae 16-34 x 1-7 cm; apical pinnae 2-7 ribbed, 8-18 x 2-13.5 cm. Inflorescence interfoliar, erect, branched to 1 order; prophyll 21-47 x 1.1-3.4 cm; peduncular bract 57-142 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, thick, with a thin, brown, caducous indument, unarmed or with black spines, to 3 cm long; peduncle 32-100 cm, with a brown indument, sparsely to densely armed with black spines; rachis 18-46 cm long, unarmed or armed for a variable part of the length with black, crimped spines, to 1 cm long; rachillae 16-68, densely covered with minute, brown or ferruginous spinules, ca. 0.1 mm long; basal rachillae 16-42 cm long, without flowers for 0.5 to 26 cm basally, with triads for ½-?of the remaining length, in this part 2-5 mm diam., distally ca. 1 mm diam., with dyads of staminate flowers; apical rachillae 3.5-14 cm long, staminate; flower groups slightly sunken into the rachillae; triads subtended by a small bract, covering up to ?4 of the pistillate flower; dyads subtended by a minute triangular bract. Staminate flowers white to violet, 2-3 mm long; sepals imbricate, briefly connate at base, 2-3 mm long; petals 2-3 mm long, nearly free; filaments ca. 1 mm long, anthers almost square to linear, 0.6-1.4 x 0.6-0.8 mm; pistillode small, trifid. Pistillate flowers 3-7 mm long; sepals imbricate, 3.5-7 mm long; petals connate for ½ of their length, valvate distally, ca. 4 mm long; staminodial cup ca. 2 mm high, briefly dentatc; pistil glabrous, ca. 3 mm long. Fruits red or orange, subglobose, slightly rostrate, 14-16 mm diam.; endocarp 13-16 mm diam., slightly pitted toward apex.
Distribution
Endemic to Colombia, where it is widely distributed along the CordilIeras Oriental and Central, from the junction of these and northwards to the department of Antioquia in Cordillera Central and at least to the department of Norte del Santander in Cordillera Oriental.
Vernacular
Cuaro, cuvaro, mararai (Cundinamarca).
Habitat
It grows in humid, frequently cloudy zones between 1900 and 2700 m, and it is often a conspicuous element in the upper montane forest. It is often conserved in deforested areas, where it seems unable to regenerate by seeds.
[PW]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
albarico
[UNAL]

Uses

Use Food
Used for food.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Palmweb - Palms of the World Online

    • Palmweb 2011. Palmweb: Palms of the World Online. Published on the internet http://www.palmweb.org. Accessed on 21/04/2013
    • Content licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0