Acrocomia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Arecales

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Arecoideae
Tribus: Cocoseae
Subtribus: Bactridinae
Genus: Acrocomia
Species: A. aculeata – A. corumbaensi – A. crispa – A. emensis – A. glaucescens – A. hassleri – A. intumescens – A. media – A. totai
Name

Acrocomia Mart., Hist. Nat. Palm. 2: 66 (1824)

Type species: Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex R.Keith, Miller's Dict. Gard.: 63 (1834)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Gastrococos Morales, Repert. Fis.-Nat. Isla Cuba 1: 57 (1866)
Acanthococos Barb.Rodr., Palm. Hassler.: 1 (1900)

References

Martius, C.F.P. von 1823. Historia Naturalis Palmarum 2: 66. tt. 56, 57.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Acrocomia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Aug. 3. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2015. Acrocomia. Published online. Accessed: Sept. 3 2015.
Tropicos.org 2015. Acrocomia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 3 Sept. 2015.

Acrocomia is a genus of palms which is native to the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico in the north, through Central America and the Caribbean, and through South America south to Argentina.[1][2]

Description

Acrocomia is a genus of spiny, pinnate-leaved palms which range from large trees to small palms with short, subterranean stems.[3]

The species bears branched inflorescences which are located among the leaves. The unisexual flowers; female flowers are born near the base of the inflorescence, while male flowers are borne towards the tips. Fruit are large, single-seeded, and vary in colour from yellow, to orange, to brown.[3]

Ricardo Vargas‑Carpintero et al. have concluded that "main research gaps are associated with genotype–environment interaction, planting material, crop management, and sustainable cropping systems. Overall, we conclude that acrocomia is at an early phase of development as an alternative and multipurpose crop and its up-scaling requires the integration of sustainability strategies tailored to location-based social-ecological conditions."[4]
Acrocomia aculeata immature fruits.
Species

Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex R.Keith - Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America
Acrocomia aculeata subsp. totai Mart. - Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, southern Brazil
Acrocomia crispa (Kunth) C. Baker ex. Becc. - Cuba
Acrocomia emensis (Toledo) Lorenzi - Brazil
Acrocomia glaucescens Lorenzi - Brazil
Acrocomia hassleri (Barb.Rodr.) W.J.Hahn - Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraguay
Acrocomia intumescens Drude - Brazil
Acrocomia media O.F.Cook - Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
Acrocomia mexicana Karw. ex Mart. - Yucatán, Mexico [5]

References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Henderson, Andrew; Gloria Galeano; Rodrigo Bernal (1995). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 45–50. ISBN 0-691-08537-4.
Ricardo Vargas‑Carpintero, Thomas Hilger, Johannes Mössinger, Roney Fraga Souza, Juan Carlos Barroso Armas, Karen Tiede andIris Lewandowski Acrocomia spp.: neglected crop, ballyhooed multipurpose palm or fit for the bioeconomy? A review, Agronomy for Sustainable Development(2021) 41:75 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-021-00729-5
Flores-Johnson, E.A. (2018-06-25). "Microstructure and mechanical properties of hard Acrocomia mexicana fruit shel". Scientific Reports. 8: 9668. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27282-8. Retrieved 2020-05-30.