Event Title
Color Variation in Attalea Phalerata Palms
Department
Sustainability and the Environment
Faculty Advisor
Joanna Tucker Lima
Start Date
30-9-2020 9:00 AM
End Date
30-9-2020 10:00 AM
Abstract
Attalea phalerata, commonly known as the Urucuri Palm, is a member of the Areaceae family and is native to Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and Brazil (USDA GRIN, 2019). A. phalerata blooms and produces fruit year-round with seasonal flowering peaks during the dry season with seasonal flowering peaks during the dry season (Tucker Lima, et. al., 2018). The palms are monoecious and inflorescences are mainly unisexual, although some individuals occassionally produce inflorescences with both staminate and pistillate flowers. In their native habitat, bees, wasps, ants, flies and beetles visit the flowers as soon as the bracts open, although only curculionid and nitidulid beetles were the only insects seen visiting flowers of both sexes (Fava et al, 2010). Regardless of pollination, sex of the inflorescence, and envrionmental factors like light, water, and air quality, all Attalea phalerata share something that is completely unique from the rest of their genus. After the bracts open, the inflorescence color changes from a creamy yellow-white to magenta to purple, and then progressively darker purple over the course of 4-5 days (Tucker Lima, 2009). Researchers at the Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables, Florida, are studying the reproductive biology of this palm species and more specifically, the dynamics and reasons behind flower color change. In this study, we collected pollen samples from A. phalerata inflorescences at different stages of flower color and assessed pollen germination under the microscope to determine the association between pollen viability and flower color. From our results we hope to discover clues related to why A. phalerata flowers change color.
File Type
Event
Color Variation in Attalea Phalerata Palms
Attalea phalerata, commonly known as the Urucuri Palm, is a member of the Areaceae family and is native to Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and Brazil (USDA GRIN, 2019). A. phalerata blooms and produces fruit year-round with seasonal flowering peaks during the dry season with seasonal flowering peaks during the dry season (Tucker Lima, et. al., 2018). The palms are monoecious and inflorescences are mainly unisexual, although some individuals occassionally produce inflorescences with both staminate and pistillate flowers. In their native habitat, bees, wasps, ants, flies and beetles visit the flowers as soon as the bracts open, although only curculionid and nitidulid beetles were the only insects seen visiting flowers of both sexes (Fava et al, 2010). Regardless of pollination, sex of the inflorescence, and envrionmental factors like light, water, and air quality, all Attalea phalerata share something that is completely unique from the rest of their genus. After the bracts open, the inflorescence color changes from a creamy yellow-white to magenta to purple, and then progressively darker purple over the course of 4-5 days (Tucker Lima, 2009). Researchers at the Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables, Florida, are studying the reproductive biology of this palm species and more specifically, the dynamics and reasons behind flower color change. In this study, we collected pollen samples from A. phalerata inflorescences at different stages of flower color and assessed pollen germination under the microscope to determine the association between pollen viability and flower color. From our results we hope to discover clues related to why A. phalerata flowers change color.