Numerous species are massive palms forming dense stands and they are therefore remarkable elements of the landscape, but there are also smaller acaulescent species in both forests and savannas. Identification of Attalea species has however been difficult for several reasons. The first problem is the paucity of good herbarium collections. Most species have very large leaves, inflorescences and fruits, and also exhibit biological characteristics like very seasonal phenology and functional dioecy which make it difficult to gather complete material. Moreover, many valuable collections, including type specimens were lost or destroyed