| The geographical distribution and morpho-genetic variation of wild and domesticated populations of a crop species are essential information for identifying a center of origin. The pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) is the only domesticated neotropical palm, whose starchy-oily fruits are subsistence products and whose heart-of-palm is an expanding agribusiness. The origin of pejibaye is unresolved, but probably will be found in the distribution of type 1 B. gasipaes var. chichagui in southwestern Amazonia. A new area of occurrence of this type is reported around São Felix do Xingu, Pará, Brazil, 52°41' W 6°34' S, about 600 km northeast of the eastern-most known population, in central Mato Grosso, Brazil. The plants of this population are slightly less robust... |
