MongabayUsed for centuries by the Cacua people but unknown to science, the táam palm is now officially described as Attalea taam.
By co-authoring the study with Indigenous experts, researchers in Colombia prove that traditional knowledge is essential for modern botany.
Sofia Moutinho reports for #Mongabay. https://mongabay.cc/KNHV1D
Working together, Indigenous peoples & researchers describe new Amazonian palm
In 2025, botanists Rodrigo Cámara-Leret and Juan Carlos Copete embarked on a two-hour boat ride down the Vaupés River in the Colombian Amazon, followed by a two-hour hike to the village of Wacará, where about 140 Indigenous Cacua people live in relative isolation. They were aiming to study the medicinal plants used by this Indigenous […]