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Aphandra natalia

Aphandra natalia · Kew POWO · Kew Plants of the World Online

EntityQ290458· pop 15· linked from 220 articles

Aphandra natalia

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Also known as Natalia's aphandra, Tagua palm, Aphandra fiber

Aphandra is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the palm family native to the Amazon rainforest vegetation in South America (Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru). Its only species is Aphandra natalia, sometimes called mastodon palm or fiber palm, and is used by indigenous peoples in the construction of brooms and other products. This plant is commercially exploited for its edible fruits, and for its leaf sheath and petiole fibers. This fiber is almost equal to the fiber extracted from Attalea funifera and Leopoldinia piassaba, which is called piassava.

Species

Least Concern

SPECIES

  1. KingdomPlantae
  2. PhylumTracheophyta
  3. ClassLiliopsida
  4. OrderArecales
  5. FamilyArecaceae
Native toBrazil North, Ecuador, Peru
Observations recorded3,625

via GBIF · IUCN · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records
24
With media
31
Family
Arecaceae
Collections
US, NY, INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE PESQUISAS DA AMAZÔNIA (INPA), MO, CENARGEN, K
Recorded in
Ecuador, Brazil, Brasil, Peru, Equador
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Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Show 5 more facts
taxon range
Acre
taxon rank
species
taxon name
Aphandra natalia
GRIN URL
npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=406771
short name
A. natalia
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

4 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Distribution and habitat
  • References
  • External links

Aphandra is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the palm family native to the Amazon rainforest vegetation in South America (Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru). Its only species is Aphandra natalia, sometimes called mastodon palm or fiber palm, and is used by indigenous peoples in the construction of brooms and other products. This plant is commercially exploited for its edible fruits, and for its leaf sheath and petiole fibers. This fiber is almost equal to the fiber extracted from Attalea funifera and Leopoldinia piassaba, which is called piassava.

The genus name is a combination of Ammandra and Phytelephas, two closely related palm genera, and the epithet "natalia" honors Natalie Uhl, modern palm taxonomist.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Aphandra natalia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)

Available in 14 languages

via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0