Arecaceae
Bactris

Bactris campestris Poepp.

First published in C.F.P.von Martius, Hist. Nat. Palm. 2: 146 (1837)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Trinidad-Tobago to S. Tropical America. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

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]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Guiana Shield. Elevation range: 100–200 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Guainía, Vichada.
Habit
Shrub.
Conservation
National Red List of Colombia (2021): LC.
[UPFC]

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. 100 - 200 m.; Guayana y Serranía de La Macarena.
Morphology General Habit
Arbusto
Conservation
Preocupación Menor
[CPLC]

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
huesito, yagua
[UNAL]

Habitat
Open areas, white-sand savannas or in low forest on white sand, generally in poorly drained places, at 10-420(-800) m elevation.
Distribution
Northeastern South America in eastern Colombia (Caqueta, Vichada), Venezuela (Amazonas, Delta Amacuro), the Guianas, Trinidad and Tobago, and Brazil (Amapa, Amazonas, Maranhao, Pará, Roraima);
Vernacular
Brazil: mumbaca branca. Suriname: kiskismaka. Venezuela: cubarro, ibasabasa
General Description
Stems cespitose, in small clumps, 1-5 m tall, 3-4 cm diam., often covered with persistent, decaying leaf bases. Leaves 2-5; leaf spines somewhat clustered, grayish brown, darker at base and apex, strongly flattened, occasionally spinulose and tomentose, 2(-4) cm long, dense on sheath and petiole, fewer on abaxial surface of rachis, rarely few and then only on sheath; sheath 24-50 cm long, sheath, petiole, and rachis often gray-tomentose, with reddish brown or black scales; ocrea to 10 cm long; petiole 15-90 cm long; rachis 0.6-1.1 m long; pinnae 17-32, irregularly arranged in clusters of 2-5, spreading in different planes, linear, Iinear-lanceolate, or oblanceolate, unequally bifid at apex; middle pinnae 26-52 x 1.5-5 cm. Inflorescences interfoliar; peduncle 13-20 cm long, recurved, spiny or not spiny; prophyll 11-20 cm long; peduncular bract 26-40 cm long, densely gray-or brown-tomentose, covered with gray or brown spines to 1.5 cm long; rachis 1-6 cm long; rachillae 8-39, 5-15 cm long, at anthesis covered with dense, reddish brown moniliform trichomes and flexuous trichomes; triads irregularly arranged among paired or solitary staminate flowers; staminate flowers 3-4 mm long, deciduous; sepal lobes 0.5 mm long; petals 3-3.5 mm long; stamens 6; pistillode absent; pistillate flowers 3-3.5 mm long; calyx annular, 0.3-0.5 mm long; corolla tubular, 2.5-3 rum long, sometimes covered with trichomes; staminodes absent; fruits 0.5-1 cm diam., depressed-globose, red or orange-red; mesocarp starchy; endocarp turbinate, the sterile pores slightly displaced longitudinally; endocarp fibers few, free; fruiting perianth with small calyx and broadly 3-lobed corolla, without staminodial ring.
[PW]

Uses

Use
The palm heart is mixed with water and placed on the tongue to treat rattlesnake bites (Strudwick et al. 4667).
[PW]

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

  • 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/

  • 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