Attalea phalerata is a neotropical species with distribution restricted to the west part of South America, found in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. This species isconsidered with high economic potential, due to the diversity of popular uses associated to it. In spite of not being used in all its potentiality, this palm tree represents substantial resource for the traditional communities distributed in its area of natural occurrence. Aiming to highlight the importance of Attalea phalerata as source of natural products, a review on botanical, ecological, ethnobotanical and agronomical aspects of this species is presented.
Scheelea palm; shapaja; Arecaceae; palm; non wood forest product