Bactris majorJacq.

WFO wfo-0000308169 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Bactris major, photographed by Zoltán Stekkelpak
fig. a Zoltán Stekkelpak, CC0 1.0 / 2021-11-22 / obs. 170440803
Bactris major, photographed by desertnaturalist
fig. b desertnaturalist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 138105964
Bactris major, photographed by Andrés Ramírez-Barrera
fig. c Andrés Ramírez-Barrera, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 58278802
Bactris major, photographed by Tomás Carranza Perales
fig. d Tomás Carranza Perales, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 102555651
Bactris major, photographed by Lena Struwe
fig. e Lena Struwe, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 1920619
Bactris major, photographed by Andres Hernandez
fig. f Andres Hernandez, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 191422536
Bactris major, photographed by Ashwin Srinivasan
fig. g Ashwin Srinivasan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 174354181
Bactris major, photographed by Jens-Christian Svenning
fig. h Jens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 75418247

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 22 botanical countries

Regions where Bactris major is native: Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela Mexico GulfMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáPeruSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela
Native distribution of Bactris major, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Belize BLZ SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Mexico Gulf MXG NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 53 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Augustinea balanoidea Oerst.
  • Augustinea major (Jacq.) H.Karst.
  • Augustinea ovata Oerst.
  • Bactris albonotata L.H.Bailey
  • Bactris augustinea L.H.Bailey
  • Bactris balanoidea (Oerst.) H.Wendl.
  • Bactris beata L.H.Bailey
  • Bactris broadwayi L.H.Bailey
  • Bactris cateri L.H.Bailey
  • Bactris chaetorhachis Mart.
  • Bactris chapadensis Barb.Rodr.
  • Bactris cruegeriana Griseb.
  • Bactris curuena (Trail) Trail ex Drude
  • Bactris demerarana L.H.Bailey
  • Bactris ellipsoidalis L.H.Bailey
  • Bactris exaltata Barb.Rodr.
  • Bactris gaviona (Trail) Trail ex Drude
  • Bactris infesta Mart.
  • Bactris major var. mattogrossensis Kuntze
  • Bactris major var. megalocarpa (Trail ex Thurn) A.J.Hend.
  • Bactris mattogrossensis Barb.Rodr.
  • Bactris megalocarpa Trail ex Thurn
  • Bactris minax Miq.
  • Bactris nemorosa Barb.Rodr.

and 29 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.