Mauritia flexuosa

Mauritia flexuosa

''Mauritia flexuosa'', known as the moriche palm, ''ité'' palm, ''ita'', ''buriti'', ''muriti'', ''canangucho'' , or ''aguaje'' , is a palm tree. It grows in and near swamps and other wet areas in tropical South America. It has been reported from Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

''Mauritia flexuosa'', a tree, can reach up to 35 m 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.
Moriche Palm Moriche Palm in the Orinoco Delta showing the masses of fruit that the trees produce.  These fruits are eaten by many creatures including the Red Howler Monkey and the White-necked Toucan Mauritia flexuosa,Moriche Palm,Orinoco Delta

Habitat

This tree is important to many animal species; several bird species, such as the red-bellied macaw, sulphury flycatcher, and moriche oriole, use it for nesting and food. Tapirs, peccaries, fish and monkeys depend on the fruit.

Alexander von Humboldt documented the tree and the ecosystem it supports in 1800 when traveling through the Llanos region of Venezuela. He "observed with astonishment how many things are connected with the existence of a single plant." He called it the "tree of life" and essentially described it as a keystone species although the concept would not be explicitly defined until 1969 by Robert T. Paine.

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassMonocots
OrderArecales
FamilyArecaceae
GenusMauritia
SpeciesM. flexuosa
Photographed in
Venezuela