Acrocomia aculeata
Acrocomia aculeata is a palm native from southern Mexico through Central America and the Caribbean to Brazil. Its common names include macaw palm and gru-gru palm. Kew treats Acrocomia quisqueyana, named by L. H. Bailey in 1941, as a synonym of this species.[1][2]
Appearance
The palm has a single upright trunk, often swollen around the middle and armed with dark spines. Old leaf bases may remain attached; older portions of the trunk can become smoother. Long leaves are divided into narrow leaflets that point in several directions, giving the crown a feathery appearance. Their undersides are pale or silvery.[2]
A woody sheath encloses the developing branched flower cluster. Male and female flowers occur on the same cluster, with female flowers near the bases of the branches. The rounded fruits contain one seed and turn yellow-green to brown at maturity.[2]
Pollination
A study of a natural population in Casanare, Colombia, followed three reproductive seasons. The flower clusters passed through a brief female phase before a longer male phase. Researchers recorded forty-eight insect species visiting the flowers, but flower weevils of the genus Andranthobius and small sap beetles of the genus Mystrops were the principal pollinators.[3]
In that population, new flower clusters appeared mainly during the drier months from December to April. These findings describe the Colombian study population rather than a universal calendar or pollinator community.[3]
Uses and classification
The fruit pulp contains oil, and the palm is being studied as an oil crop. A 2025 genetic study compared A. aculeata with A. totai and A. intumescens as distinct taxa.[4] This differs from the broad, older classification described in the palm identification guide, which grouped upright members of the genus together. Its identification information should therefore be read alongside current taxonomic treatments.[2][1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Acrocomia aculeata. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Identifying Commonly Cultivated Palms. Acrocomia aculeata: identification account, IDtools. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Carreño-Barrera, J., Maia, A. C. D., Colombo, C. A. and Núñez-Avellaneda, L. A. (2021). Co-pollination, constancy, and efficiency over time: small beetles and the reproductive success of Acrocomia aculeata (Arecaceae) in the Colombian Orinoquia. Botany Letters 168(3), 395–407, doi:10.1080/23818107.2021.1893215; chapter text in IAC repository, PDF pp.45–46. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Genetic variations associated with adaptation in Acrocomia palms: A comparative study across the Neotropics for crop improvement (2025). PLOS ONE, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0324340; indexed introduction. Accessed 9 October 2026.