Aiphanes hirsuta

Native from Costa Rica to northwestern Ecuador, this clustering palm grows in wet tropical and mountain forests. Its slender upright stems and leaf stalks bear numerous spines. The feather-like leaves have wedge-shaped leaflets with unevenly cut tips. Branched flower clusters emerge among the leaves and carry separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Rounded fruits ripen red to purple. In Colombia, it is recorded in Andean and Pacific regions from about 330 to 7,200 feet. Photographed in Colombia.