A new Bactris (Palmae) from Central America

G R E G DE NEVERS AND ANDREW HENDERSON

De Nevers, G. (California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Fran-

cisco, CA 94118, U.S.A.) & A. Henderson (The New York Botanical Garden,
Bronx, NY 10458-5126). A new Bactris (Palmae) from Central America. Brittonia
51: 77-78. 1999.---Bactris neomilitaris, a new species from Central America, is
described and illustrated. It is compared to Bactris militaris, in which it was
formerly included.
Key words: Bactris, Palmae, Arecaceae, Central America

Further study has confirmed the suspi-
cion of de Nevers et al. (1996) that Bactris
militaris H. E. M o o r e as treated in that pa-
per actually consists of two distinct species,
a widespread species on the Atlantic slope
in Costa Rica and P a n a m a and a narrow
endemic of the Osa Penninsula region o f
Costa Rica on the Pacific Slope. The Osa
Peninsula entity was given the name Bac-
tris militaris by M o o r e (1951). The Atlantic
slope species is here described and distin-
guished f r o m B. militaris.
Bactris neomilitaris de Nevers & A. Hen-
derson sp. nov. (Fig. 1)
TYPE: P A N A M A . Col6n: S a n t a R i t a
Ridge, 10 k m f r o m Transistmica, 9~
79~ 350 m, 4 M a r 1995, G. de Nevers,
A. Henderson, G. Galeano & R. Bernal
10648 (HOLOTYPE: PMA; ISOTYPES: A A U ,
BH, CAS, COL, FTG, K, MO, NY, US).
A B. militaris fructuum endocarpii fibris numerosis
cum sacculis succiferis connexis differt.
Stems cespitose, 1-2 m tall, 2.5-3 c m
diam. Leaves 5 - 8 per stem, coriaceous,
strongly plicate; leaf spines widely scat-
tered, black, terete, to 7 c m long, few on
lateral surfaces of petiole, abaxial surface
o f rachis, and margins o f blade; sheath and
ocrea not seen; petiole 2 8 - 4 3 c m long; ra-
chis 7 8 - 1 4 6 c m long; blade simple, elon-
gate cuneate-oblanceolate in outline, grad-
ually expanded f r o m a narrowly cuneate
base to the bifid apex, with 18 main veins
per side, without evident cross-veins; blade
to 1.5 m long, to 18-27 c m wide at apex
of rachis. Inflorescences interfoliar; pedun-
cle to 14 c m long, straight, not spiny; pro-
phyll 7 - 9 • 1.2-1.8 cm; peduncular bract
to 17.5 c m long, tomentose; rachis 1-2 c m
long; rachillae 5-8, to 4 c m long, at anthe-
sis covered with brown, moniliform tri-
chomes; triads irregularly arranged a m o n g
paired or solitary staminate flowers; stami-
nate flowers 4 - 5 m m long; sepal lobes 1 -
1.5 m m long; petals 4 m m long, the lobes
valvate; stamens 6; pistillode v e r y small;
pistillate flowers 3 - 4 m m long; calyx an-
nular, to 1 m m long; corolla tubular, 3 - 4
m m long; staminodes absent; o v a r y cylin-
dric; stigma broadly truncate; fruits broadly
obovoid, indistinctly rostrate, 1.4-1.6 c m
diam., orange; m e s o c a r p juicy; endocarp
not pitted, turbinate, the sterile pores dis-
placed longitudinally; endocarp fibers nu-
merous, free, terete, with juice sacs at-
tached; fruiting perianth with minute calyx
and longer corolla, without staminodial
ring; eophyll bifid.
Distribution and ecology.--Atlantic
slope of Costa Rica (Lim6n) and P a n a m a
(Col6n) below 400 m; low, wet, s w a m p y
sites near the sea or on well-drained slopes.
Although the only collections we have stud-
ied are widely separated, we are confident
that Bactris neomilitaris is actually distrib-
uted discontinuously all along the poorly
known, wet Atlantic slope of Costa Rica
and Panama.

Brittonia, 51(1), 1999, pp. 77-78. ISSUED: 9 Apr 1999

9 1999, by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.
 78 BRITTONIA
FIG. 1. Bactris neomilitaris (de Nevers et al. 10648). A. Habit. B. Infructescence.
Additional specimens examined: COSTA RICA. Li-
m6n: Sixaola region, Finca Anai, 09~ 82~
25-30 m, Grayum et al. 4476 (MO); Refugio Barra
del Colorado, between Rio Chirripocito and Rio Sar-
dina, Grayum et al. 8984 (MO); between Rio Madre
and Blanco, Shore at Morn, Atlantic coast, sea level,
Pittier 16715 (US).
B a c t r i s neomilitaris is c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y
its s i m p l e , bifid l e a v e s a n d o r a n g e fruits
w i t h a s m o o t h e n d o c a r p w i t h n u m e r o u s fi-
b e r s w i t h j u i c e sacs a t t a c h e d . In 1996 w e
included the Costa Rican specimens cited
h e r e in B. militaris. T h e t w o s p e c i e s are
v e r y similar, b u t c a n b e d i s t i n g u i s h e d b o t h
b y t h e i r l e a v e s a n d b y their fruits. T h e l e a f
b l a d e s o f B. militaris are to 3.1 m long;
t h o s e o f B. neomilitaris are o n l y to 1.5 m
long. A d d i t i o n a l l y , the fruits o f B. militaris
h a v e p i t t e d e n d o c a r p s w i t h f e w fibers w i t h -
o u t j u i c e sacs; t h o s e o f B. n e o m i l i t a r i s h a v e
n o n - p i t t e d e n d o c a r p s w i t h n u m e r o u s fibers
w h i c h h a v e j u i c e sacs a t t a c h e d . Bactris
n e o m i l i t a r i s is a m e m b e r o f a g r o u p o f s i m -
[ V O L . 51
ilar s p e c i e s (B. caudata H. W e n d l . e x Bur-
ret, B. c h a r n l e y a e de N e v e r s , A . H e n d e r s o n
& G r a y u m , B. d i a n e u r a B u r r e t , B. g r a c i l i o r
Burret, B. g r a y u m i i d e N e v e r s & A . H e n -
d e r s o n , B. h o n d u r e n s i s Standl., B. k u n o r u m
d e N e v e r s & G r a y u m , B. m e x i e a n a Mart.,
B. militaris H. E. M o o r e , and B. p a n a m e n -
sis d e N e v e r s & G r a y u m ) c o n f i n e d to C e n -
tral A m e r i c a a n d the Pacific C o a s t o f C o -
lombia.
Acknowledgments
We thank Rupert Barneby for translating
the L a t i n d i a g n o s i s , a n d R o d r i g o B e r n a l f o r
s u p p l y i n g the p h o t o g r a p h s .
Literature Cited
de Nevers, G., A. Henderson & M. Grayum. 1996.
Mesoamerican Bactris (Palmae). Proc. Calif. Acad.
Sci. 49: 171-210.
Moore, H. 1951. Palmae novae variae. Gentes Herb.
8: 223-238.