Bactris brongniartii Mart.

A palm which forms clusters. The stems are 8 m high and 5 cm across. They are light brown with darker rings of spines. There are 4-6 leaves. The leaves are 1.6 m long. The leaves have narrow, sword shaped leaflets. These are light green. The leaf stalk has spines. The leaves are feather like. There are 23-34 leaflets on each side. They are stiffly spreading and arranged in different planes. The flowering stalk has 15-33 flowering branches. The bract around the flower has flattened yellowish spines 2 cm long. The fruit are a flattened round shape and 1.5 cm across. They are purple-black and juicy. They have one large seed. They have a leathery skin. The skin is black. There is only a small amount of edible flesh. The fruiting stalk has about 10 short branches with about 12 fruit on each.

A tropical plant. It grows in low wet areas and along streams. It can grow in light shade but does better in full sunlight. It grows along the banks of black water streams and rivers rich in sediment. It can be in areas that are occasionally flooded.

The fruit are eaten and also used for drinks.

Plants can be grown from seeds or suckers.