Astrocaryum
(from astron, a star, and karyon, a nut; referring to the disposition of the fruit). ORD. Palmae. A genus of very ornamental stove Palms, allied to Cocos, having the trunk (when present), foliage, fruit-stalks, spathes, and sometimes the fruit, covered with spines. The flowers develop from the axils of the old decayed leaves. Drupes oval, one-seeded, orange or yellow, in some species fragrant. Leaves pinnate, with linear segments, dark green above, and often of a silvery white below. The species thrive in a compost of two-thirds rich loam and one-third vegetable mould; water may be given copiously. Propagation may be effected by seeds, which should be sown in spring in a hotbed; or by suckers, if they are to be obtained.
A. acaule (stemless). l. pinnate, 3ft. to 10ft. long, slender and spreading; pinnae narrow, arranged in clusters, pendent. Spines very numerous, long, flat, black. h. 10ft. Brazil, 1824.
A. aculeatum (prickly). h. 40ft. Guiana, 1824.
A. argenteum (silvery).* l. arching, wedge-shaped, pinnate, distinctly plicate, bright green on the upper surface, the under surface, as well as the stalks, covered with a fine white scurf, which gives them a silvered appearance. Columbia, 1875. One of the best of silver palms. A. filare (thready).* l. erect, narrowly cuneate, with two divergent lobes; petioles covered with white scurf, both on the upper and under surfaces. Distinct and elegant, with a comparatively small and slender growth. Columbia, 1875.
A. granatense (New Grenadan). l. pinnate, with oblong-acuminate segments; the rachis is spiny, like the petiole, both on the upper and lower surfaces; leafstalks brownish, armed with numerous scattered needle-shaped dark-coloured spines. Columbia, 1876.
A. mexicanum (Mexican). Mexico, 1864.
A. Muru-Muru (Murumuru). l. pinnate, 10ft. to 12ft. long; leaflets lanceolate, sub-falcate, dark green above, silvery white below. Stem 12ft. to 15ft. high, densely clothed with strong reflexed black spines, over 6in. long. h. 40ft. Brazil, 1825.
A. rostratum (beak-sheathed). l. irregularly pinnate, 3ft. to 8ft. long; pinnae 12in. to 18in. long; terminal lobe much larger and bifid, dark green above, silvery white below; petioles broadly sheathing at the base, densely armed with black spines, sometimes 2in. long. Stem slender, densely clothed with long black spines. A slow grower, ultimately becoming 30ft. high. Brazil, 1854.
A. vulgare (common). h. 30ft. Brazil, 1825.