Aguajillo, Thorny mauritiella
Mauritiella armata

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A palm. It can be 20 m tall. It grows in clumps. The fronds are fan shaped. They are silver grey underneath. The trunk is slender and short and has spines. The fruit occur as many in a bunch. The fruit are scaly and oval. They are 3 cm long by 2 cm wide. They are pale orange. The skin is thin and the pulp is yellow. Their is one red-brown seed.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows up to 900 m above sea level. It grows in seasonally flooded savannahs. In Townsville palmetum.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil (country/location of origin), Colombia, Ecuador, Guianas, Guyana, Peru (country/location of origin), South America, Suriname, Venezuela

How it is used for food

The fruit are softened in water then eaten. They are also used for fruit.

The fruit are sold in local markets.

Edible parts

Fruit, palm heart, seed

How it is grown

Fruit are harvested near the end of the rainy season.

Its other names

Local names

Aguajillo, Bie ne ni, Buritirana, Buriti-ana, Buriti-mirim, Carana, Caranai, Moretillo, Pati

Synonyms

Lepidococcus armatus (Mart.) H.Wendl. & Drude; Lepidococcus duckei (Burret) H.Wendl. & Drude ex A.D.Hawkes; Lepidococcus huebneri (Burret) H.Wendl. & Drude ex A.D.Hawkes; Lepidococcus intermedius (Burret) H.Wendl. & Drude ex A.D.Hawkes; Lepidococcus martianus (Spruce) H.Wendl. & Drude ex A.D.Hawkes; Lepidococcus peruvianus (Becc.) H.Wendl. & Drude ex A.D.Hawkes; Lepidococcus pumilus (Wallace) H.Wendl. & Drude ex A.D.Hawkes; Mauritia armata Mart.; Mauritia campylostachys (Burret) Balick; Mauritia duckei (Burret) Balick; Mauritia huebneri Burret; Mauritia intermedia Burret; Mauritia macrospadix (Burret) Balick; Mauritia martiana Spruce; Mauritia nannostachys (Burret) Balick ; Mauritia peruviana Becc.; Mauritia pumila Wallace; Mauritiella campylostachys Burret; Mauritiella duckei Burret; Mauritiella huebneri (Burret) Burret; Mauritiella intermedia (Burret) Burret; Mauritiella macrospadix Burret; Mauritiella martiana (Spruce) Burret; Mauritiella nannostachys Burret; Mauritiella peruviana (Becc.) Burret; Mauritiella pumila (Wallace) Burret; Oenocarpus dealbatus H.Wendl.;