Growth by basal branching in two species of Huicungo palms, Astrocaryum carnosum and A. huicungo

Authors

  • Miguel Machahua Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Av. Arenales 1256, Jesús María, Lima 11, Perú.
  • Francis Kahn Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Av. Arenales 1256, Jesús María, Lima 11, Perú.
  • Betty Millán Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Av. Arenales 1256, Jesús María, Lima 11, Perú.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v22i1.11123

Keywords:

Astrocaryum, Arecaceae, caespitose habit, Peruvian Amazon.

Abstract

The basal branching process of Astrocaryum carnosum and A. huicungo is described and its rate and structural expression at the population level is analyzed. Two populations of palms were used in this study, A. carnosum from the Alto Huallaga valley and A. huicungo from the Alto Mayo valley. Branching systems underground were exposed and drawn. For both species, it was established 25 quadrants of 20x20m, in which were counted (i) the number of solitary and caespitose individuals, and (ii) the numbers of axes composing the caespitose individuals. The axes of solitary and caespitose individuals were distributed by growth stages (seedling/juvenile-1/juvenile-2/adult). Seedling and juvenile-1 are not caespitose, basal branching starts in juvenile-2. A. huicungo presents a higher density of axes produced by basal branching than A. carnosum. This branching process in both species by formations of clones from short rhizomes allows an optimized exploitation of space and ensures the continuity of the population over time. However, its role in the spatial propagation of the species is very limited by the shortness of the rhizomes.

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Published

04/24/2015

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Articles

How to Cite

Machahua, Miguel, Francis Kahn, and Betty Millán. 2015. “Growth by Basal Branching in Two Species of Huicungo Palms, Astrocaryum Carnosum and A. Huicungo”. Revista Peruana De Biología 22 (1): 071-076. https://doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v22i1.11123.