Pambil, Gualte, Macana
Wettinia kalbreyeri

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A solitary palm. It has thick stilt roots. The palm grows 10-20 m tall and the trunk is 10-20 cm across. The stilt roots are about 1 m long. There are 4-5 leaves. The palm has a prominent green crown-shaft. There are 19-26 leaflets on each side of the leaf. Each of the leaflets is divided to the base into 2-4 narrow segments. These arch over. The segments spread in 2 different planes. The flower stalk has 15 flowers at each node. The fruit hang. The fruit are round or slightly oval. They are 2.4-3.5 cm long. They are green and have short hairs.

There are 21 Wettinia species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows between 700 and 1200 m altitude in Ecuador. They can grow up to 2,100 m altitude. They are in mountain rainforest.

Countries/locations it is found in

Andes, Colombia, Ecuador, South America

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Palm hearts

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Catoblastus inconstans (Dugand) Glassman ex R. Bernal; Catoblastus kalbreyeri (Burret)Burret; Catoblastus megalocarpus (Burret)Burret; Catoblastus microcaryus (Burret)Burret; Catoblastus sphaerocarpus (Burret)Burret; Catostigma inconstans Dugand; Catostigma kalbreyeri Burret; Catostigma megalocarpum Burret; Catostigma microcarpum (Burret)Burret; Catostigma sphaerocarpum Burret; Catostigma sphaerocarpum var. microcaryum Burret;