ASTROCARYUM, a genus of about 30 species of tropical American pinnate leaved palms noted for their profuse sharp spines sometimes a foot long. A. murumuru, the murumuru palm, a common species in the lower Amazon region, seldom attains a height of more than 20 feet. It bears an edible, melon-flavored, musky-scented ovoid fruit about an inch long, the pulp of which is highly prized as food for man and cattle. Hogs crush the seeds, which are almost as hard as vegetable ivory, and fatten well upon them. A. tucuma, the tucuma palm, reaches a height of 30 to 40 feet, and has very regularly ar ranged spines, bears an edible, globular fruit, and is native of the same region as the pre ceding species. A. vulgare is a taller-growing palm than the above. The unexpandecl leaves furnish a strong fibre, for which the tree is often cultivated where it is not native. To obtain this fibre the terminal bud is cut and the epidermis of the delicate leaves carefully peeled in ribbon-like strips that when dry are twisted into fine, strong, durable threads used for making twine, bowstrings, hammocks, fish nets, etc. The fibre of older leaves is coarser,
tougher and stronger and is used for cordage; the petioles of the young leaves are used for making into baskets and hats. This species, commonly known as the tecum palm, is distinct from the tucuma palm noted above, but was confounded with it by Martius, who pictured the tucuma as the fibre-bearing species. Consult Wallace, (Palm Trees of the Amazon' (1853). Several species are cultivated• in greenhouses for ornamental purposes and specimens as large as 10 feet tall often bear fruit. For culture, consult Bailey, (Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture) (1914).