Pata de gallo

The Essence

"Asterogyne martiana is by far the most widely distributed member of Asterogyne, a genus of five species in the tribe Geonomateae (subfamily Arecoideae); three of the others are Venezuelan endemics and the fifth is confined to French Guiana. It is a small solitary understorey palm reaching about 2.5 m, carrying a crown of roughly 8 to 15 simple, deeply notched bifid leaves. The genus name refers to its star-shaped female flowers, and the palm is pollinated by syrphid flies (hoverflies), the subject of a 1970 study by Schmid in Principes. The smooth, elongate fruit is reddish brown when immature and black at full maturity. Its long-lasting leaves are collected by local people to roof huts, and Useful Tropical Plants records the fruit as edible. It is also a popular palm with collectors and is grown as a shade ornamental, sold under the Nicaraguan vernacular name Pata de gallo. No IUCN Red List assessment could be found for the species - GBIF's Red List endpoint returns Not Evaluated - although it is described as abundant within its range."

First described as Geonoma martiana H.Wendl. in Linnaea 28: 342 (1856). The accepted combination, Asterogyne martiana (H.Wendl.) H.Wendl. ex Hemsl., dates to Biologia Centrali-Americana, Botany 3: 409 (1885). PALMweb and some other references instead cite the combination as H.Wendl. ex Drude, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 2(3): 59 (1889), which IPNI treats as an isonym. Synonyms include Geonoma martiana, Geonoma trifurcata and Asterogyne minor.