Taxonomy
Once cut, the leaves of the fishtail palm, known locally as xate, are bundled into packs and carried through the forest to a sorting station.
Chamaedorea is the most diverse genus of palm in the neotropics, containing 80-100 species.
It is a geographically widespread group of plants. Although a few species are widespread and occur over much of Central and South America, the majority have more restricted distributions.
The palm family (Arecaceae) to which Chamaedorea ernesti-auguisti belongs:
- contains 2,361 species
- is believed to have evolved over 120 million years ago
- occurs mainly in the humid tropics and subtropics (warm temperate regions). The neotropics (Americas) and southeast Asia are centres of diversity. Africa is relatively poor in palm species.