Anyone growing Oenocarpus bacaba?

[Gunnar Hillert]

There was a fascinating scientific study released yesterday: Scientists name the most common tropical tree species for the first time
It was published in nature and the "Supplementary Table 1" download gives you a sorted list of species names. It is quite cool to learn how common certain palm species are. Number 1 for Amazonia is Oenocarpus bacaba! Is anyone growing this palm species? It seems to be surprisingly rare in cultivation. Would be neat to find a seed source for this edible-fruit-producing palm.

I have very small seedlings of Oenocarpus bataua (Rank #14) and Oenocarpus minor in the ground here in Hawaii and have a little weak spot for neotropical palms 🙂.

[realarch]

Aloha Gunner, fascinating article, thanks for the reference. 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Oenocarpus bacaba available before, but it could be because I’ve never really looked for it. I am growing O. bataua though and it’s quite happy in the garden growing quite large. The seed source was from a contact in Ecuador and acquired as a small seedling. No trunk yet, but the upright fronds must be 20’ long already. (6m) I’ll snap a few photos and post.

Tim

[realarch]

Me again. I’ve also got an Oenocarpus distichus in the ground which was gifted some years back. Talk about slow….OMG. It is growing, but at a very leisurely pace.

Tim

[mike in kurtistown]

I have Oenocarpus bacaba (photo below), minor, bataua (a little smaller than Tim's), and distichus (won't grow, except for one, a little bit). None have flowered, though I have some hopes for bacaba and minor. Some Oenocarpus species don't grow very well here in east Hawaii Island. I theorize that it may not be hot enough.

 

 

Edited January 12, 2024 by mike in kurtistown
name correction

[realarch]

Mike, that O. bacaba is looking great! That photo reminds me of traveling in South America and seeing various palms in the middle of pastures,

Tim  

[Gunnar Hillert]

 

@mike in kurtistown Cool picture! Where did you get your seeds from? I saw that Rarepalmseeds.com had O. bacaba in the past. But considering how common it is in the wild, it is uncommon in cultivation apparently. I pinged Jeff, but he does not grow O. bacaba, either 😔.

[mike in kurtistown]

I went on a post-tour to the Rio Negro in the Amazon after the biennial in the DR in 2006. That's when I picked up a very few O. bacaba seeds in a forest off the river. The pictured one was planted out in 2013.

To the lower left of the big bacaba in the picture is a smaller one. This was a non-growing palm in a pot in my shadehouse for several years. I got tired of looking at it and banished it to the ground in 2016. After a couple of years, it started growing. It's to 6 ft now and needs more fertilizer.

 

[Gunnar Hillert]

@mike in kurtistown Awesome! Your's might be the only ones on-island 😉. How easy was germination? Did you give it any special treatment? Also, what elevation are you at? Just in case I can find some seeds.

[mike in kurtistown]

No special problem with germination. I germinate palm seeds just by submerging them slightly in pots of my potting soil mix (Sunshine #4, Supersoil, and crushed cinder). My elevation is in my signature area (740 feet).

[Gunnar Hillert]

It think I just ordered some seeds ... let's see if they eventually arrive 🙂