Aiphanes horrida (Jacq.) Burret, Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Aiphanes aculeata Willd.; Aiphanes caryotifolia (Kunth) H. Wendl.; Aiphanes truncata (Brongn. ex Mart.) H. Wendl.; Caryota horrida Jacq.; Martinezia caryotifolia Kunth; Martinezia truncata Brongn. ex Mart.; Tilmia caryotifolia (Kunth) O. F. Cook

Common name(s): [more details]

English: ruffle palm, spine palm

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Erect, solitary palms with dark spines and leaf scar rings on the pale stem, leaves with praemorse leaflets, and spines on almost every part of the palm. Solitary, upright, grayish stems to 10 m tall and up to 15 cm in diameter, ringed with flattened black spines (up to 2 cm long) and leaf scars. Leaves pinnate, with a short, spiny petiole and drooping, spiny rachis. Leaflets, clustered in groups of 4-6, grow in several planes, and the praemorse tips have three major teeth. The wedge-shaped leaflets are dramatically wider at the leaf apex. The blades may be glabrous to more or less covered with small spines. Inflorescences (about 60-90 cm long) are borne among the leaves and are once branched. Separate staminate and pistillate (male and female) flowers are held on the same inflorescence. Fruits are spherical, 1.6-2.3 cm, and bright red or orange-red when ripe"  (Identifying Commonly Cultivated Palms).

"A single trunked palm which is covered in long black spines, which grows to about 10 m. It has a very attractive crown of light green, broad ruffled, spiny leaflets, on pale spiny stalks. The fruits are bright red"  (PACSOA).

Habitat/ecology:  "The species is found in dry forests between sea level and 1700 m (5600 feet) above sea level.  It is cultivated as an ornamental throughout the tropics"  (Palmpedia).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Native to Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Trinidada and Tobago and Venezuela; cultivated in South America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Aiphanes horrida, please let us know.