Aiphanes verrucosa
Borchsenius & Balslev.
Chonta
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Tobias Spanner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tobias Spanner
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Tobias Spanner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tobias Spanner
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Tobias Spanner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tobias Spanner
Summary
Source: WikipediaAiphanes verrucosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
A palm with many stems. There are about 6 per clump. They are 2-5 m tall. The trunks are 4-5 cm across. There are black spines in clusters. These are 8 cm long. There are 3-5 leaves arranged in one plane. These have 58-70 leaflets on each side. These are in clusters of 4-11. They are narrow and sword shaped with small spines along the edge. It has large flower clusters. The fruit are greenish-white and round and 2-3 cm across.
Edible Uses
The fruit may be eaten raw or poached, and the palm heart and cabbage are also consumed.
Traditional Uses
The fruit are eaten raw or poached.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows between 1800 to 2800 m altitude.
Where It Grows
Andes, Ecuador*, South America,
Notes
There are about 38 Aiphanes species. They grow in tropical America.
References (8)
- Eynden, Van den, V., & Cueva E., Cabrera, O., 2004, Edible Palms of Southern Ecuador. Palms. Vol 48(3):141-147
- Henderson, A., Galeano, G and Bernal, R., 1995, Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton. p 175
- Marcia, M. J., et al, 2011, Palm Uses in Northwestern South America: A Quantitative Review. Bot. Rev. (2011) 77:462-570
- Torre, de la L., et al, 2008, Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador. Herbario QCA. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. p 193
- Van den Eynden, V., et al, 2003, Wild Foods from South Ecuador. Economic Botany 57(4): 576-603
Show all 8 references Hide references
- Van den Eynden, V. et al, 2004, Edible Palms of Southern Ecuador. Palms Volume 48(3):142-148
- Van den Eynden, V., 2004, Use and Management of edible non-crop plants in southern Ecuador. Ph. D. dissertation Faculty of Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences, Belgium, 246pp
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
