Aphandra natalia

Abstract

One might regard A. natalia as the broom palm because its principal use is to make brooms. Fibers, remnants of leaf stems, persist on the trunk and are cut to make brooms that are sold in urban and rural areas. Even with the advent of nylon brooms, these palm brooms still claim a sizeable regional market. This wiry palm is found in the understory of forests in the eastern slopes of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru as well as in lowland forest in the southwestern portion of the Brazilian Amazon.