Mauritia flexuosa

Mauritia flexuosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Mauritia
Species:
M. flexuosa
Binomial name
Mauritia flexuosa
Distribution of Mauritia flexuosa
Synonyms[1]
  • Mauritia flexuosa var. venezuelana Steyerm.
  • Mauritia minor Burret
  • Mauritia sagus Schult. & Schult.f.
  • Mauritia setigera Griseb. & H.Wendl.
  • Mauritia sphaerocarpa Burret
  • Mauritia vinifera Mart.
  • Saguerus americanus H.Wendl.

Mauritia flexuosa, known as the moriche palm, ité palm, ita, buriti, muriti, miriti (Brazil), canangucho (Colombia), morete or acho (Ecuador), or aguaje (Peru), is a palm tree. It grows in and near swamps and other wet areas in tropical South America.[2]

Mauritia flexuosa, a tree, can reach up to 35 m (115 ft) in height. The large leaves form a rounded crown. The flowers are yellowish and appear from December to April. The fruit, which grows from December to June, is a chestnut color and is covered with shiny scales. The yellow flesh covers a hard, oval nut. The seeds float, and this is the means by which the palm tree propagates. In natural populations, the tree reaches very high densities.[3]

  1. ^ "Mauritia flexuosa L.f. — the Plant List". Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  2. ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". Wcsp.science.kew.org. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ Francis Kahn. "Ecology of Economically Important Palms in Peruvian Amazonia" (PDF). Horizon.documentation.ird.fr. Retrieved 23 March 2022.