Xaté Survey

Last week I worked with staff members from the Belize Audubon Society surveying diversity and density of xaté palms (family Chamaedorea) in Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. The Reserve (6,750 acres) was designated to maintain natural processes in an undisturbed state, thus it is not open to the public. Despite management and patrol efforts, many illegal activities occur within its borders, such as logging and hunting. Most evident in Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve is the presence of xatéros, who work illegally in Belize collecting leaves that are trafficked back to Guatemala (trails marked with blaze orange arrows spray-painted on trees and cleanly chopped by machetes, clearings in the forest for make-shift camps, litter on the ground, and of course the xaté palms stripped of all their beauty).

Xaté (sha-tay) are leaves from three Chamaedorea palm species (C. elegans, C. oblongata and C. ernesti-augustii) used in the floral industry. They are used commercially because they are attractive leaves that can last for up to 45 days after being cut. This makes them popular for flower arrangements, Palm Sunday services and decoration. Make a difference by making sure that your flower arrangements come without xaté leaves or that the xaté leaves come from a sustainable source. There is currently very little sustainable fishtail available but this should be changing in the next few years as projects in Guatemala and Belize begin harvesting.

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-Belize Botanic Gardens

To develop capacity in Belize for conserving and sustainably managing xaté palms (Chamaedorea spp.) and improving economic benefits to Belizeans from xaté collection a collaborative venture between the Natural History Museum (London), the Belize Forest Department, and the Belize Botanic Gardens was established in 2003 through The Darwin Initiative. The Darwin Initiative is a small grants programme that aims to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of resources around the world.

The fishtail palm (C. ernesti-augustii) is the most commonly harvested xaté species. We observed that xatéros had covered every square inch of the Reserve; steep terrain, thick bush, no matter- the xateros had already been here. Besides being illegal, xaté harvest in Belize's protected areas is done unsustainably; some plants were left with only a stem. After four days of surveying we only observed two mature fishtail palms with harvestable leaves that were completely unscathed.

What I found most interesting during the survey was a large and healthy fishtail palm with a hummingbird nest, neatly woven out of the spider silk, on one of its leaves. The typical fishtail palms we encountered stand about knee-high off of the ground, this palm was over my head. I don't think disturbed palms cannot grow high because they put so much energy into producing new leaves (it takes 2-3 years for the plant to mature).

What if this bird species (not sure which one, we only saw the nest) has a specific relationship with the fishtail palm? It could not survive in a disturbed habitat because its nest would be low to the ground and very susceptible to nest predation. Its a stretch, but who knows, nature has so many secrets that have yet to be discovered.