The Cohune Palm (Orbignya cohune, Arecaceae) in ...

The Cohune Palm (Orbignya cohune, Arecaceae) in Belize: A Survey of Uses Author(s): Kendra McSweeney Source: Economic Botany, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1995), pp. 162-171 Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4255712 . Accessed: 19/07/2013 13:28 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

New York Botanical Garden Press and Springer are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Economic Botany.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 128.146.194.20 on Fri, 19 Jul 2013 13:28:03 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THE COHUNE PALM (ORBIGNYA COHUNE, ARECACEAE) IN BELIZE: A SURVEY OF USES' KENDRA MCSWEENEY2 McSweeney,Kendra(Departmentof Geography,Universityof Tennessee,Knoxville,TN 379961420, U.S.A.) THE COHUNE PALM (ORBIGNYA COHUNE, ARECACEAE)IN BELIZE:A SURVEY OF

UsES.EconomicBotany 49(2):162-171. 1995. AlthoughcommonthroughoutBelize in lowland forests and agriculturalsystems, the cohune palm, Orbignyacohune is relativelylittle used comparedwith its historicimportance,accordingto a 1992 surveydiscussedhere.Among uses found to persistare leavesfor thatch,fruitsfor oil, andpalm heartasfood. Exploitationrequired only simple technologyand was most notableat socio-economicextremes.Areasfrom which cohuneswereexploitedrarelycoincidedwithhigh-densitystandsof the species.Alternativesexist for all cohuneproducts.It seems unlikelythat thispalm willbe the basisof a large-scaleindustry in Belize, primarilybecauseof the uncertaintyof wildyields and the widespreadavailabilityof alternatives. La Palmade Corozo(Orbignyacohune,Arecaceae)en Belice:Una investigaci6nde usos.Aunque es comun en todos los bosquesde las tierrasbajas y los sistemas agricolasde Belice, la palma de corozo, Orbignyacohune (Mart.)Dahlg. ex Standl. es poco usada en comparaci6ncon su importanciahist6rica,de acuerdocon un estudiorealizadoen 1992. Entrelos usos quepersisten, se encontr6que las hojasfueron usadas para techo, los frutos para aceite y el palmito como recursoalimenticio. La explotaci6nrequeriauna tecnologiasimple y era mas notableen los extremossocio-econ6micos.Las areas donde la coroza era explotada,rares vecescoincidieron con las agrupacionesde alta densidadde la especie.Existen alternativaspara todoslos productos de la coroza.Es poco probableque esta palma sea la base para una industriaa gran escala en Belice,principalmentedebidoa lo caprichosode la producci6nsilvestrey la ampliadisponibilidad de alternativas. Key Words: Orbignyacohune;palm; palm exploitation;Belize;non-timberforest products.

In the past decade, the economic importance of wild (non-cultivated) palms within managed agricultural systems has been increasingly documented in the neotropics. For example, studies of such species as Phytelephas aequatorialis (Barfod, Bergmann, and Pedersen 1990), Aphandra natalia (Pedersen 1992), Euterpe oleracea (Anderson and Jardim 1989; Strudwick and Sobel 1988), and the babassu palm complex (Orbignya spp.) of Brazil (Anderson, May, and Balick 199 1; Hecht, Anderson, and May 1988; May et al. 1985), have illustrated how an abundance of a palm in the human landscape can both result in part from, and facilitate, a high level of sustained

' Received 3 May 1994;accepted8 September1994. Currentmailing address:470 Mt. Stephen Ave., Westmount,Quebec, CanadaH3Y 2X6. 2

exploitation of fruits, fibers, leaves, and other products. In most cases, useful palms are not only spared when forest is cleared, but the grasslike resilience of some species to cutting and burning gives them an advantage over non-palms in fallowed fields, pastures, and gardens (Voeks and daVinha 1988). Such is the case with the Central American palm Orbignya cohune (Martius) Dahlgren ex Standley. Due in part to its ability to thrive under human disturbance, this forest palm is common in anthropogenic settings throughout its distribution along the Caribbean littoral from Mexico's Yucatan to the Honduran Mosquitia (Glassman 1977; Johannessen 1957; Quero 1992). The palm possesses large, stiff leaves useful as thatch and in light construction, oil-rich fruits, an edible heart, and other useful products, for which it has received recurrent note as an economically im-

Economic Botany 49(2) pp. 162-171. 1995 ? 1995, by The New York BotanicalGarden,Bronx,NY 10458 U.S.A.


1995]

McSWEENEY: COHUNE IN BELIZE

portant species (Briicher 1989; Duke 1989; Williams 1981). Its contemporary exploitation has been recorded in Mexico (Anderson, May, and Balick 1991) and Honduras (Balick 1990), yet there has been no comprehensive study of the nature and degree of cohune use in modem Central America. This study concerns the use of the cohune in Belize, a small country of 22 963 km2 at the center of the cohune's international distribution. In Belize, the palm has been described as the country's most abundant and distinctive "tree" (Furley 1975; Horwich and Lyon 1990; Standley and Record 1936), and its historic importance to Mayas, settlers, and laborers in Belize's traditionally forest-based economy is well documented (Johannessen 1957; Lundell 1939, 1942; Mars 1971; Morris 1883; Squier 1858; Standley and Steyermark 1958; Stevenson 1932). The degree to which the palm is exploited in modern Belize, however, is less well known. Mention of its contemporary use is common in ecotourismrelated literature (e.g., Hoffman 1994; Mahler and Wotkyns 1991; Mallan 1991), although a close reading of these sources finds that "can be used" or "is excellent for" replaces "is used for." The last published work exclusively on this species in Belize appears to be that of Furley (1975). The following comprises a preliminary report on the current status of cohune use in Belize based on a two-month survey in the summer of 1992. THE COHUNE PALM The cohune (Fig. 1), also known as "corozo," is the northernmost member of the Orbignya; its counterpart on the Pacific side of the Central American isthmus is Orbignya guacuyule (Liebmann ex Martius) Hernandez-X. (Eder 1970; Glassman 1977; Johannessen 1957; Quero 1992; Standley 1932). Up to 20 m tall, the cohune is an upper canopy palm of lowland (below 600 masl) broadleaved forest. In common with many palm species (Peters 1990; Peters et al. 1989), the cohune is found throughout its distribution in high-density stands within more species-rich forest (Furley 1975; Horwich and Lyon 1990; Johannessen 1957; Wright et al. 1959). In a related study, for example, I found an average of 216.4 cohune stems in six non-contiguous 100 m2 plots within undisturbed forest in northwestern Belize. More commonly, however, the cohune is found in varying densities over deep, well-drained soils;

163

(kernel)

{

1'

0

1

[

dcarp '-

approx. 7 cm

nm

Fig. 1. The cohune palm of CentralAmerica: a) matureplant;b) cross-sectionof fruit. where the palm is dominant or codominant, the forest type is called "cohune ridge" (Stevenson 1928; Wright et al. 1959). It has been suggested that by its rich litter and the deep root holes it leaves, the cohune may contribute to the turnover and richness of the soil in which it thrives (Furley 1975; Wright et al. 1959). Indeed, the presence of abundant cohune has long been used as an indicator of fertile land worth farming (Bernsten and Herdt 1977; Bristowe and Wright 1889; Morris 1883; Squier 1858; Swett 1868), and I found that it is still relied upon in this way by subsistence farmers and commercial citrus growers. Although historically cohune-rich forest has been preferentially felled for agriculture, abundance of the cohune as a species seems to result from its relative success in agricultural systems. For example, when clearing land for pasture, farmers may spare stemmed, medium-height (510 m) palms, both because they provide shade for cattle (and yet are too small to topple or drop heavy fruit on livestock) and because the stems, often covered with persistent leaf sheaths, are extremely hard to cut, and prove comparably resistant to the subsequent burning of the plot. But even when all the surface vegetation is removed (as is increasingly the case as bulldozers become more available) and burned, cohunes


ECONOMICBOTANY

164

[VOL.49

TABLE1. PRODUCTSFROMTHECOHUNEPALM of the use of cohune products. Belize's small population of 200 000 (BIS 1992), however, made (ORBIGNYACOHUNE)USED IN BELIZE, 1992. possible a survey approach: I visited all places where historical record indicated use of the palm, Fruit Whole fruit shipped internationallyas seed to palm and I visited the stores and markets of all the cultivators, and for use in dried flower arrange- larger towns in each of the country's five districts. ments By interviewing vendors, I identified and visited Unripe kerneloccasionallyused as cooking "milk" specific source and production areas. I spoke with Ripe kernel used as snack food and as a source of approximately 200 people about the palm and cookingoil; mash remainingafteroil manufacture its uses and found some form of cohune exploiused as pig feed tation in most parts of the country. Use of the Epicarpburnedto "smoke"bees, bumed as cooking palm was least in the country's north; ironically, fuel; attachedmesocarpfed to fowl in the northernmost district of Corozal, named to Endocarpused as cooking fuel, burned "smoke" for a cohune grove, use was negligible-probably bees because of the relative scarcity of the palm owing Stem to a drier climate and extensive agriculture. CoStumps in fields maintainedas cow-licks hune use in neighboring countries was not asLeaves sessed. All monetary sums are given in Belize Whole leaf used as thatch, and for roughwalls dollars, which at the time of the study were apLeafletsused as ties, and woven into small fans proximately half the value of the U.S. dollar. Whole leaf used as temporaryin-fieldcover for harvested maize COHUNE USE IN BELIZE Rachis used for light construction,includingplant Cohune products, the use of which I was able trellises to confirm in Belize, are listed in Table 1. UnDried inflorescence confirmed uses included the making of cohune Crudebroom wine from fermented sap, which several BeliPalmito (apical meristem, undevelopedleaves) zeans reported doing in the recent past, and which As food: raw as snack food, cooked, pickled has been recorded recently in Honduras (Balick 1990). One unusual use was in dried flower arStem of fruit panicle for which whole seed was exported rangements, Fly-brush to the U.S.; however, this appeared to be limited to the shipment of one cargo container of dispersist. Because the palm's growing tip remains infected fruits several years ago. One palm culunderground for seven to ten years, young, pre- tivator in the Cayo district has sent viable cohune existing cohunes, whose above-ground portion seed around the world for cultivation by palm may be entirely cut or burned away, will put up enthusiasts. Four of the most common uses are new leaves a few weeks after a clearing event. I described below. found an average of 49.6 such individuals in three COHUNE FLYBRUSHES 1oo m2 plots one month after a cohune-rich forest had been bulldozed and burned. Such "cryptogeal," or hidden growth is noted among the Orbignya and other members of the palm subfamily Attaleae (Anderson, May, and Balick 1991; May et al. 1985; Voeks and daVinha 1988). Such characteristics are thought to have led to an overall increase in the cohune's densities in Belize and an expansion of its range over time (Eder 1970; Furley 1975; Johannessen 1957; Quero 1992). THE SURVEY In contrast to the cohune's abundance in Belize, initial investigation yielded scant evidence

The stem of the cohune fruit panicle has been used to create a high-quality, durable flybrush, traditionally used to deter biting insects. To make a flybrush, the stem is trimmed of its branches and cut to a 70 cm length, and one end repeatedly beaten to disengage the fibers of which it is composed. I recorded the manufacture and sale of flybrushes in four villages, the first in the Cayo district, the others in the Belize district: San Jose Soccoths, Rockstone Pond, Gayle's Point, and Maypen. Flybrushes from the three latter towns were produced by one or two older people and either sold locally to villagers and tourists for $5 or sold to middlemen for $2.50-$3, who subse-


1995]

McSWEENEY:COHUNE IN BELIZE

quently sold them for twice that amount in the Belize City market. COHUNE THATCH Cohune leaf thatch is easily recognized because the leaves, unlike those of other thatching palms, are pinnate, and so are laid horizontally along a roof in a distinctive pattern. Although most rural settlements in Belize had some cohune-thatched homes, I found it to predominate as a roofing material in only certain areas. For example, cohune thatch was common in the immigrant settlements of Salvapan, Las Flores, and the Valley of Peace, which have a combined population of over 5000 people (Montgomery 1991). Along the Southern Highway, approximately 75% of homes visible from the road were cohune-thatched; villages there are of Kekchi and Mopan Maya, settled within the past two decades. Cohune thatch use persisted in the established Mayan towns of the Toledo District, including Blue Creek and San Antonio, although the number of thatched homes in the latter was negligible compared with photographs published by Thompson (1930), where cohune appears as the only roofing material. I found cohune leaf to be an occasional thatch in the Garifuna villages of Sittee River, Hopkins, and Silk Grass Creek. Since the cohune is largely absent from the coastal vegetation in these areas, cohune leaves were brought by boat from areas inland. Elsewhere in Belize, I found cohune thatch on cattle sheds, on structures built to protect Mayan ruins, and in some tourist accommodations in the Cayo district. Compared with historical reference to the commonness of thatched homes (Morris 1883; Willey et al. 1965), it appears that the use of all thatches, including cohune, has become more geographically confined, predominating in the incongruous contexts of recent, subsistence-based settlements, farm buildings, and in structures associated with tourism.

Harvest of cohune leaves rarely if ever kills the palm, since only the largest of the arched, erect leaves are cut, some of which may reach to 18 m (Morris 1883). The Belizean government allowed cohune leaves to be cut from Forest Reserves for $0.02 per leaf; foresters with whom I spoke acknowledged that much unregulated cutting occurred. I found most people considered cohune leaves a free, useful resource, most easily cut from immature palms having leafbracts which are relatively low.

165

The two thatching events I witnessed suggested that the technique has changed little since described by Thompson (1930). Fresh-cut leaves are split with a machete along the rachis, laid horizontally and tied with leaflets to a roof frame. The rigidity of the rachis means rounded corners cannot be thatched; cohune-thatched homes are of a distinctive A-frame construction. Depending on the size of the structure and the quality of the thatching job, 500-800 leaves are required from some 30-60 palms. It is said that cohune thatch over time has a tendency to become brittle, and the frequency of replacement is from six to 20 years. Cohune leaf is not considered the best thatching material available. The fan-leaved palms, including Sabal morrisiana Bartlett, known as botan, and Thrinax radiata Lodd., the silver thatch palm, are said to afford a more durable and structurally flexible thatch. The scarcity of these species was mentioned by several of the 34 cohune thatch owners I interviewed in different parts of the country. In some areas, the rarity of these palms is natural; elsewhere, it is anthropogenic. For example, the settlement into central Belize of Central American refugees in the past two decades has led to the botin's overexploitation and near local extinction (Thomas 1992) and a corresponding increase in cohune leaf use. Over the same period, the rapid growth of the tourism industry initiated the construction of rustic-looking thatched cabafias for restaurants and tourist accommodation, primarily on the offshore cayes and in the lodges of the Cayo district. The preferred botan was harvested for this purpose from the most accessible areas; I was told botan leaf prices around Belmopan (Belize's capital) had correspondingly increased from $0.10 in 1984 to $0.70-0.80 per leaf in 1992. Cohune-thatch homeowners with whom I spoke were eager to replace their thatch with longer lasting metal or creosote-soaked cardboard roofs, but lacked the money to do so. Most recognized that although a thatched roof makes for a cooler and quieter home, they require more frequent replacement, harbor vermin, and are not considered modern. COHUNE OIL The parts of Belize in which I found cohune oil to be processed and sold in 1992 were mapped (Fig. 2). In most areas, I found cohune oil production infrequent, although occurring in a va-


ECONOMICBOTANY

166

[VOL.49

lard, and "manteca de corozo," is a yellowish, non-dryingoil similar to coconut oil but with a lower melting point and smokier taste. The oil is contained in the endosperm,or kernels,which --I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~are 64.5-71.8% oil by weight(Eckley 1954; FAO 1989). A single maturecohune can producefrom one to three panicles of 150-800 hard, ovoid * drupes up to 7 cm long; the number of kernels per fruitvaries from one to five. I was repeatedly told that cohunes in pasturesfruit more prolifically, and at an earlier age than shaded forest palms, but that the number of kernels in any population varied greatly between individuals. OIHM ' PROHUNE Oil producersclaimed to know which palms had the most kernels, and avoided collecting from low-yielding individuals. The large variation in we 0 O *~~~~~~~~0 Yer-mn 50_10 the number of kernels per fruit was cited in the failure of at least three large-scale,historic atto manufacture cohune oil in Belize tempts -'C" mur ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~y (Hummel 1925; Mars 1971; Morris 1883; Stevenson 1932). g~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7 I revisited two oil producinghouseholds, one Ouatemals6 Mestizo, the other Creole, in the towns of Bullet Fig. 2. The distributionof cohune oil production andsalein Belize,1992.Useof theoil in homelighting Tree Falls and Maypen, respectively,to witness each part of the three-day process of oil manuis not confirmed. facture (Fig. 3). The process proved virtually identical to historic accounts (Martinez 1936; Squier 1858). First, the fallen fruits were colrietyof ethnicities,includingKekchiand Mopan lected from "cohunepasture"wherethe sun had Maya, Garifuna, Mestizo, and Creole. Usually, acceleratedtheirdrying,and wherein some cases oil was made occasionally as a "treat"or when forest mammals and cattle had already chewed a scarcityof money precludedbuying other oils. off the epicarp. Fruits were then put in sacks to Year-roundproduction, that is, oil extruded at be broughthome, but I was told that they were least once each month, for sale, was rare.I count- occasionallybrokenin the place wherecollected, ed only nine households in three areas that although the discarded husks then had to be claimed such reliance: Bullet Tree Falls/Santa burned to prevent their getting into the hooves Familia, Altun Ha/Rockstone Pond, and May- of cattle. Fruits are mature in December and at pen. In all but one case, oil manufacture was used their driest in May. Fruits were routinely colto augment income from a primary activity lected into July, however, even though the number infestedwith Bruchidbeetle larvaeincreased (farming). The only use for cohune oil I was able to con- noticeably. Both families had fruit storageareas firm was as a cooking oil. Despite historicalac- to allow for year-round oil production, and counts of cohune oil lamps (Gann 1918; Morris seemed unconcernedabout seasonalavailability. 1883; Squier 1858), and several reports of the I was told that the collection of fruit from forest oil's continued use as lightingfuel in some Ma- and dense secondarygrowtharoundthe villages yan villages of the Toledo District, I was unable was avoided because of the lower yields from to confirm such use. Similarly,use of cohune oil shaded palms, higher incidence of poisonous in soap-makingappearsto have ceased,although snakes, and the difficultyof findingfruits on the a representativeof the Lily Soap Factoryof Or- forest floor. The thin, fibrousepicarpand the 5-7 mm thick, ange Walk said the company was investigating the possibility of large-scalecohune oil manu- stony endocarp were then broken at home. Although I was told that small crushing devices facture for this purpose. Cohune oil, also knownas cohune fat, cohune wereused in the past, I found only manualcrack',

-

=,

X..: .


1995]


ing of cohune fruits, typically between the blunt head of a small axe and a stone. Despite the difficulty of breaking the extremely hard endocarp, experienced fruit crushers broke up to three per minute. The oval kernels, each 1-2 cm long, were then "mashed" in a wooden "pilon" with a thick pole for at least an hour until fine (corn mills were occasionally employed after the initial breakdown of the kernels). This was the most arduous part of oil manufacture. Finally, the ground kernels were boiled outdoors in a large vat over an open fire, using the broken endocarps as fuel. Several hours of intermittent stirring were required for the oil to float to the surface, from which it was skimmed, then heated over a kitchen fire to liberate the remaining water. The pure oil was then stored in wine or soda bottles and sealed. Both producer families used several family members at different stages of the process: children helped in fruit collection, fruit breaking, and stirring; men were said to occasionally help in pounding the kernels. Although both families acknowledged the economic importance of the activity to their households, and the convenience of a home-based money-earning opportunity, they also mentioned declining interest in the activity among their children and the hard and tedious work involved. Among the oil producers with whom I spoke, the amount of oil prepared each week varied from three to six liters, depending on the financial needs of the household and the yield of the fruit. One family produced approximately 3.3 liters of oil each week. About half a bottle (300 ml) was kept for home use to supplement purchased oil, and four 750 ml bottles (3 L) were sold to a vendor for $20, or 35% of the family's weekly income. During the same time period, in another village, one older women was producing 6 L a week, and realizing $35-$40 from a man who sold it for her in the Belize City market; she was the only oil producer I met for whom the activity was the main source of income. In addition to the money directly generated from selling cohune oil, there were indirect economic benefits that accrued to producer households. Among them, the broken epicarps, which are lined with a powdery orange, carbohydraterich mesocarp, were given to fowl and considered a nutritious substitute for purchased feed or rice. The boiled mash that remained after the liberation of the oil was used regularly by one family

167

FRUITS COLLECTED IN FOREST/PASTURE CARRY HOME

BREAK INPASTURE REMOVE

____

I

EPICARP/ENDOCARP

SAVEAS COOKINGFUEL

v/

KERNELSIN PILON

BOIL MASH

I I\ I

FEEDFOR CHICKENS, TURKEYS

MASH

N I \

I

EXTRACT KERNEL

~~~RETRIEVE____->-

~~~OIL

REMAINING

MASHTO PIGS

| FRYOIL0

V

SAVEFOR HOUSEHOLD*--- COOL,BOTTLE ----b-SELL 0 USE

Fig. 3. The manufactureof cohune oil, approximately a three day process.

as pig feed, a practice reported by Morris (1883). The woody endocarp was saved as a cooking fuel which provides a slow, even heat and is particularly useful in the rainy season when dry wood is scarce. None of the oil producers with whom I spoke made charcoal from the epicarps for sale, although cohune charcoal was once an important export of colonial Belize (Mars 1971; Standley and Steyermark 1958), and charcoal production is an economically important by-product of oil manufacture from other Orbignya species (Anderson, May, and Balick 1991; Hecht, Anderson, and May 1988). After being sold by the producer family, the oil was brought to the Saturday and permanent markets in San Ignacio, and to the Belize City Provisional market. The oil was typically sold for $7/750 ml, a 20% increase from the producers' price. Because the oil goes rancid within two weeks without refrigeration, there was a constant, if low, demand for fresh oil. Cohune oil is therefore a relatively rare and expensive oil, typically $2-$3/750 ml more than coconut oil. Coconut fruits are more easily col-


ECONOMICBOTANY

168

lected and yield large quantities of oil by weight (Dixon 1985); coconut oil was readily available throughout Belize at small roadside stalls and in larger markets. Cohune oil was also up to $4 more per 750 ml than imported vegetable oils or lard. Indeed, cohune oil was considered a luxury item, and I found it was bought by townspeople who wanted to treat themselves to what is considered a uniquely rich, tasty oil that is seen as a traditional Belizean foodstuff, especially when it is used to fry plantains and black beans. Most Belizeans of all heritages with whom I spoke were familiar with cohune oil, although few had bought it or made it, because of the cost or the time and labor involved. Yet, I found a high level of interest among people in the use of the oil, and in most cases an overestimation of the number and geographical range of producers. Given the difficulties of making the oil and the availability of alternatives, the question becomes not why is cohune oil manufacture dying, but under what circumstances does it persist? Clearly, access to fruits is crucial. For each of the main oil-producing areas, there were active cohune pastures nearby to which the producers had access through family connections or ownership. The history of the villages also seemed important: producer areas were located in long-established settlements where pastoralism presided over subsistence agriculture. The absence of coconuts in these areas was also noticeable, although I was unable to discover either the reason or how the lack of coconut influenced the use of cohune. An important requisite also appeared to be geographic: producer areas were sufficiently rural that wage-earning opportunities were limited, but sufficiently close to a large town (the average travel time from the three areas to Belize City or San Ignacio is three hours) that the transport of the perishable oil to a large specialty market was feasible, if not convenient. Ultimately, it appears to be this interplay between pastoral rural producers and urban consumers that keeps cohune oil manufacture alive. COHUNE PALMITO Cohune heart, known as cohune palmito or "cohune cabbage," is the palm's apical meristem and undeveloped leaves: a cylindrical, ivory-colored bundle encased in the bracts of larger leaves. Removal of the heart is the only use of the cohune that results directly in its death, since the cohune is always single-stemmed. To harvest

[VOL.49

palmito, the cohune's stem must be discernable to indicate that the heart is above-ground (approximately 15 years after germination). I was told stemmed cohunes of any age have equally edible hearts, although the risk of ant infestation increases with the palm's age. Areas from which palmito were cut were typically secondary growth stands on the periphery of villages, where cohunes were relatively small, their stems only 15 m from the ground. Once the leaves were removed by machete, the top 60 cm of remaining crown-a bundle of sheath bases 72 cm in circumference and weighing approximately 9 kgwas severed from the palm stem. The heart itself, once the encasing 6-10 cm of leaf sheath bases were removed, weighed 1-1.4 kg and was only 30 cm tall. Folk wisdom dictates that palmito be cut during the dark phase of the moon, but I found little adherence to this custom. Despite lore to the contrary, the Ministry of Natural Resources puts no restrictions on the cutting of cohune heart in Belize. The distribution of cohune heart processing and consumption in 1992 in Belize is presented in Fig. 4. I was able to find only one place in Belize where cohune heart was processed at a level above that of the household. This was a private operation on the Western Highway, on a family-owned farm where fresh palmito was canned in a weak vinegar solution. The owner drew on a large network of farmers to ensure a steady palmito supply: once a farmer was about to clear land, permission was granted to send in two men to cut the palmito. In the summer of 1992, the operation's entire supply was met from the cohunes on one 120 ha plot owned by a Mennonite farmer who was planning to bulldoze the land the following season. I was told there is often more cohune-rich forest felled than could be processed at one time, and that only cohune palmito, and no other palm heart, was taken. At the time of my visit, demand for heart was low and the operation was processing 16-20 hearts a week. The two men who cut the heart one day a week received $5 per heart, even for those found to be ant-infested. Even in the low season, then, the cutters earned approximately $50 each for one day's work-or a third of a regular laborer's weekly wage. From the 20 hearts, some five cases of canned palmito (24 jars/case) were produced. The jars were sold for $8 retail, $6 wholesale, to stores in San Ignacio, Belmopan, and Belize City, and to restaurants, hotels, and resorts in those



1995]

169

cities and in the Cayo districtand off-shoreAmbergrisCaye. Palmito is consumed over a wide social, economic, and culturalspectrum.The canned heart j~~~~~j is used in commercial establishmentsas a salad garnish.It is also cut by ruraland non-ruralpeoples alike in the Catholic Mestizo communities NOZIOO~~~ .~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3 of the Cayo district, where it is consumed on religiousholidays, most often near Easter.I was unable to confirm similar use in the Mestizo communitiesof Belize'snorth,probablybecause of the scarcity of the cohune there. Palmito is valued as a meat replacementfor its textureand "filling"quality, although as a palm heart, it is / , COH.UNEPALMIT 1 ,, low in protein and only marginally nutritious * ;-r~~~~~~~~ Sadkiouiduturi (Brucher1989). I found such use among Mopan I / ~~~~~~~HOME CONtJSMPTION and KekchiMayasubsistencefarmerswho relied - mund Yaw on palmito as a scarcityfood when meat was not available, and among the East Indian community of PuntaGorda,wheretwo restaurantsserved "cohune cabbagecurry." *dm 60 1 Severalof Belize's 18 palm species have edible hearts. Palmito from cohune and royal palm Fig. 4. Distribution of consumption and sale of [Roystoneaoleracea (Jacq.)Cook] is considered cohune palmito in Belize, 1992. relativelysweet;some people with whom I spoke preferredthe more bitter palmito from Sabal spp. and cabbage (EuterpemacrospadixOerst.) is in part a result of increased use of other palm palms. The use of cohune palmito is thereforea thatches in tourist areas. Palmito is both a submatterof tasteas well as availability.In the west- sistence food when animal protein is scarce, and ern part of Belize, where palmito use was most a garnish for tourist salads in urban or resort marked, cohune was virtually the only species restaurants. Cohune oil is produced by a cashused in this way because of its relative abun- needy few for a small group of townspeople who dance.In the south, thereappearsa greaterabun- can afford it as an occasional treat. dance of different palm species, and a correCertainly, there is much less reliance on the cohune than its modern abundance would seem spondingdecreasein the use of cohune. -s w

ut

DIscUSSION

AND CONCLUSION

The findings of this two-month survey show that the cohune palm is a wild resource used for a variety of purposes. Cohune is used most where it occurs in pastures, fields, and secondary growth, as an accidental or facilitated remnant of the natural vegetation. Forest conversion may en-

courage cohune use: the only commercial producer of palmito was supplied directly from clearcuttingoperations, and cohune acts as an alternativeto other species made scarcethrough deforestationand overuse (cohune thatch). Where cohune use persists, it is especially no-

ticeable at the ends of the socio-economic spectrum. Cohune thatch use is prevalent among Central American refugees and recently settled Maya, and their use of cohune over other species

J

v

r

-

f t X. ..O. .EAW.1

Sdd

in mlnle

and11.

p

to encourage. In particular, there was no systematic exploitation of the many high-density stands I found within Belize's forests, although "monocultures" of useful palms have been the targets of decimation elsewhere (Balick 1984; Brucher 1989; Lleras and Coradin 1988; Peters 1990). In areas where the cohune was more frequently used, as in the rural parts of the Cayo district, I only rarely heard that the intensification of agriculture was making cohune more scarce; more often, I heard laments of their weed-like tenaciousness in fields. There is little question that in comparison to its historic importance, the cohune is of little use in modern Belize. Although many Belizeans I interviewed spoke fondly of the cohune and its products, their nostalgia at its traditional use did not translate into a desire to resume the difficult,


170

ECONOMICBOTANY

time-consuming work required for its continued exploitation at current technological levels. The availability of alternatives for all the products it provided was often cited, as was regret that the palm did not produce one good of sufficient quality or quantity to make its exploitation profitable at a large scale. In this regard, the cohune belongs to the "tertiary" pool of useful palms, whose "astounding variety of products are generally derived from wild stands and marketed locally, if at all" (Bates 1988:59). If there is an economic future for the cohune, it may be as a source of germplasm for the improvement of oil-yielding South American species such as Orbignya phalerata and 0. oleifera (Anderson, May, and Balick 1991; Duke 1989). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was funded by a grant from the McClure Foundation for the Study of World Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as part of a Masters thesis in the Department of Geography. I thank the following for help in the field and in the preparation of this manuscript: John and Martha August, the Belize Ministry of Natural Resources, Adoni Cubas, Dr. Sally Horn, Philip Leclerc, Laura Ng6, Belen Redmond, and Tom Wallin.

LITERATURE

CITED

Anderson, A. B., and M. A. G. Jardim. 1989. Costs and benefits of floodplain forest management by rural inhabitants in the Amazon estuary: a case study of avai palm production. Pages 114-129 in J. G. Browder, ed., Fragile lands in Latin America: strategies for sustainable development. Westview Press, Boulder, CO. , P. May, and M. J. Balick. 1991. The subsidy from nature: palm forests, peasantry, and development on an Amazonian frontier. Columbia University Press, New York. Balick, M. J. 1984. Ethnobotany of palms in the neotropics. Advances in Economic Botany 1:9-23. 1990. Production of coyol wine from Acrocomia mexicana (Arecaceae) in Honduras. Economic Botany 44:84-93. Barfod, A. S., B. Bergmann, and H. B. Pedersen. 1990. The vegetable ivory industry: surviving and doing well in Ecuador. Economic Botany 44:293-300. Bates, D. M. 1988. Utilization pools: a framework for comparing and evaluating the economic importance of palms. Advances in Economic Botany

6:54-64. Bernsten, R. H., and R. W. Herdt. 1977. Towards an understanding of milpa agriculture: the Belize case. Journal of Developing Areas 11:373-392. BIS. 1992. Fact sheet 1992. Belize Information Service, Government of Belize, Belmopan. Bristowe, L., and P. Wright. 1889. Handbook of Brit-

[VOL.49

ish Honduras 1888-1889. Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. Brucher, H. 1989. Useful plants of neotropical origin and their wild relatives. Springer-Verlag, London. Davidson, W. V. 1983. Map in Davidson, W. V. 1987. The Amerindians of Belize, an overview. America Indigena 47:9-22. Dixon, C. V. 1985. Coconuts and man on the north coast of Honduras. Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers 11: 17-21. Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of nuts. CRC Press, Florida. Eckley, E. W. 1954. Vegetable fats and oils. Rheinhold, New York. Eder, H. M. 1970. Palms and man in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 32:41-58. FAO. 1989. Utilization of tropical foods: trees. Food and Nutrition Paper 47(3), FAO, Rome. Furley, P. A. 1975. The significance of the cohune palm, Orbignya cohune (Mart.) Dahlgren, on the nature and in the development of the soil profile. Biotropica 7:32-36. Gann, T. W. F. 1918. The Maya Indians of southern Yucatan and northern British Honduras. Bulletin 64, Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Glassman, S. F. 1977. Preliminary taxonomic studies in the palm genus Orbignya Mart. Phytologia 36: 89-115. Hecht, S. B., A. B. Anderson, and P. May. 1988. The subsidy from nature: shifting cultivation, successional palm forests, and rural development. Human Organization 47:25-35. Hoffman, E. 1994. Adventuring in Belize. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. Horwich, R. H., and J. Lyon. 1990. A Belizean rainforest: the Community Baboon Sanctuary. Orangutan Press, Gay Mills, WI. Hummel, C. 1925. Report on the forests of British Honduras. Crown Agents for the Colonies, London. Johannessen, C. L. 1957. Man's role in the distribution of the corozo palm (Orbignya spp.). Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 19:29-33. Lleras, E., and L. Coradin. 1988. Native neotropical oil palms: state of the art and perspectives for Latin America. Advances in Economic Botany 6:201-213. Lundell, C. L. 1939. Plants probably utilized by the Old Mayan Empire of Peten and adjacent lowlands. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters 24:37-56. 1942. The vegetation and natural resources of British Honduras. Chronica Botanica 7(4):169171. Mahler, R., and S. Wotkyns. 1991. Belize: a natural destination. John Muir Publishers, Sante Fe, NM.


1995]


Mallan, C. 1991. Belize handbook. Moon Publication, Chico, CA. Mars, P. A. 1971. Feasibility survey for projected development of the cohune nut industry in British Honduras (Belize). Publication Rl 19, Tropical Products Institute, Abingdon, U.K. Martinez, M. 1936. Plantas utiles de Mexico. Ediciones botas, Mexico. May, P. H., A. B. Anderson, M. J. Balick, and J. M. F. Frazao. 1985. Subsistence benefits from the babassu palm (Orbignya martiana). Economic Botany 39:113-129. Montgomery, T. S. 1991. Refugees in Belize 1991. Unpublished report to the UNHCR, Belmopan, Belize. Morris, D. 1883. The crown colony of British Honduras, its resources and prospects. Edward Sanford, London. Pedersen, H. B. 1992. Uses and management of Aphandra natalia (Palmae) in Ecuador. Bulletin de l'institut francais d'etudes andines 21:741-753. Peters, C. M. 1990. Population ecology and management of forest fruit trees in Peruvian Amazonia. Pages 86-98 in A. B. Anderson, ed., Alternatives to deforestation: steps toward sustainable use of the Amazon rain forest. Columbia University Press, New York. , M. J. Balick, F. Kahn, and A. B. Anderson. 1989. Oligarchic forests of economic plants in Amazonia: utilization and conservation of an important tropical resource. Conservation Biology 3:341-349. Quero, H. J. 1992. Current status of Mexican palms. Principes 36:203-216. Squier, E. G. 1858. The states of Central America. Harper & Brothers, New York. Standley, P. C. 1932. The cohune palm an Orbignya, not an Attalea. Tropical Woods 30:1-3.

171

, and S. J. Record. 1936. The forests and flora of British Honduras. Botanical Series 12:1-432. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. , and J. Steyermark. 1958. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany 24(1). Chicago Natural History Museum, Chicago. Stevenson, D. 1928. Types of forest growth in British Honduras. Tropical Woods 14:20-25. Stevenson, N. S. 1932. The cohune palm in British Honduras. Tropical Woods 30:3-5. Strudwick, J., and G. L. Sobel. 1988. Use of Euterpe oleracea Mart. in the Amazon estuary, Brazil. Advances in Economic Botany 6:225-253. Swett, C. 1868. A trip to British Honduras, and to San Pedro, Republic of Honduras. New Orleans, Louisiana. Thomas, L. 1992. Palms: farm cultivation of selected species. Unpublished project proposal to USAID, Belmopan, Belize. Thompson, J. E. 1930. Ethnology of the Mayas of southern and central British Honduras. Anthropological Series 17(2):21-215. Publication 274, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Voeks, R. A., and S. G. daVinha. 1988. Fire management of the piassava fiber palm (Attalea funifera) in eastern Brazil. Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers 14:7-13. Willey, G., W. Bullard Jr., J. Glass, and J. Gifford. 1965. Prehistoric Maya settlements in the Belize Valley. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 54. Harvard University, Cambridge. Williams, L. 0. 1981. The useful palms of Central America. Ceiba 24(1-2):256-257. Wright, A. C. S., D. H. Romney, R. H. Arbuckle, R. C. Carcel, and A. C. Williamson. 1959. Land in British Honduras: report of the British Honduras land use survey team. Colonial Research Publication no. 24, H.M.S.O., London.
