Attalea (plant)

'' showing leaf arrangement and inflorescences Attalea is a genus of non-spiny palms with pinnately compound leaves—rows of leaflets emerge on either side of the axis of the leaf in a feather-like or fern-like pattern. Species range from large trees with stout stems up to tall to acaulescent palms (ones which lack an aboveground stem). The number of leaves per individual varies from about three to thirty-five; larger plants tend to have more and longer leaves. Inflorescences either consist entirely of male flowers, or are predominantly female with a few male flowers. Fruit usually have two or three seeds, although fewer or more are present in some species, and are usually brown, yellow, orange-brown or purple when mature. Four different types of male flowers exist. On the basis of these flower types, the genus has often been split into four genera—a more narrowly defined Attalea, Orbignya, Maximiliana, and Scheelea. The species sometimes referred to Orbignya have coiled anthers, while the other groups have straight ones. The petals of those placed in Maximiliana are much shorter than the stamens, while those placed in Scheelea and a more narrowly defined Attalea have petals that are longer than the stamens. Five species do not fit easily into any of these groups; this fact has been used as an argument in favour of considering this group a single genus. ==Taxonomy==

Attalea has been placed in the subfamily Arecoideae, the tribe Cocoseae and the subtribe Attaleinae, together with the genera Allagoptera, Beccariophoenix, Butia, Cocos, Jubaea, Jubaeopsis, Parajubaea, Syagrus, and Voanioala. Within this subtribe, Attalea has been found to be a monophyletic group, and sister to the clade containing Allagoptera, Polyandrococos, Parajubaea, Butia, and Jubaea. Rafäel Govaerts and John Dransfield recognised a single genus in their 2005 World Checklist of Palms, and Jean-Christophe Pintaud continued this usage in his 2008 review of the genus. Four of the genera—Attalea (in a narrow sense), Orbignya, Maximiliana and Scheelea—correspond to four different types of male flowers found within the genus. However, a few species have flowers that are intermediate between these four types, including A. colenda (which Glassman placed in its own genus, Ynesa) and this has been used as an argument for the single-genus approach. The fact that there are several hybrids between species that would be considered different genera under Glassman's five-genus system was also used as an argument for placing them in a single genus. The genus was named for Attalus III Philometor, king of Pergamon, known for his interest in medicinal plants. The genera Maximiliana and Orbignya were described by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius in 1826 and 1837 respectively. Scheelea was described by Hermann Karsten in 1857, and Ynesa by Orator F. Cook in 1942. Species '', a Haitian endemic, is the most geographically isolated species in the genus. ==Reproduction and growth==

Attalea species are monoecious—male and female flowers are separate, but are borne by the same plant. while pollination in A. colenda and A. speciosa, has been attributed both to insects and wind. The fruit are animal-dispersed.—during germination, as the cotyledon expands it pushes the young shoot away from the seed. After germination, the stem initially grows downward before turning to grow upward and produce the aboveground stem. This produces a "saxophone shaped" belowground portion of the stem. The fact that the shoot tips of Attalea seedlings are underground is likely to contribute to their fire-tolerance. ==Distribution==

Species range across the Neotropics from Mexico in the north to Bolivia, Paraguay, and southern Brazil in the south, ==Habitat and ecology==

feeding on Attalea fruit. Attalea includes both large trees and small, acaulescent palms, which occupy a number of different ecological niches. Dense stands of some of the larger species are conspicuous elements on the landscape, while smaller species are found in both in the forest understorey and in savannas. A. speciosa forms pure stands in many parts of Brazil where natural forest vegetation has been cleared. The fruit are dispersed by animals; fruit which are not dispersed frequently suffer seed predation by bruchid beetles. On Maracá Island, Roraima, in the Brazilian Amazon, A. maripa fruit were consumed by tapirs, collared peccaries, deer, and primates. Rodents, including agoutis, fed upon the fruit, and as the fruit availability declined, they fed on the seeds. Other dispersers of Attalea fruit include crested caracaras, which consume the fruit and disperse the seeds of A. phalerata in the Brazilian Pantanal. ==Uses==

Attalea species have a long history of human use. Carbonised Attalea maripa seeds have been found in archaeological sites in Colombia dating back to 9000 BP. Several species remain important sources of edible oil, thatch, edible seeds, and fibre. The leaves of Attalea butyracea and A. maripa are used extensively for thatching. Several species are oil palms, with A. speciosa among the most important economically. and in 1985 it was estimated to support over 450,000 households throughout the Brazil. Piassava fibres, extracted from the leaf bases of A. funifera, are commercially important, ==References==