Publications on Palms Native to the Peten and Izabal areas of Guatemala
The many years of field trips by the teams of FLAAR (USA) and FLAAR Mesoamerica (Guatemala) have resulted in a research archive of photos we have taken of flora, fauna and biodiverse ecosystems of over 30 TERAbytes. We show below 17 different FLAAR Reports on palms of Peten and Caribbean area of Izabal, Guatemala that we have produced in recent years.
This year, 2025, we have a project Palm Paradise Peten to find, photograph, document, and publish as many species of palm trees in Parque Nacional Yaxha, Nakum and Naranjo, plus south of Uaxactun. All these areas are in the Reserva de la Biosfera Maya, RBM.
The following download buttons allow you to download the recent six years of FLAAR Reports on wild palm trees in remote areas by Nicholas Hellmuth and team. Lots of reports on palms of Peten and many more reports on palms of the Municipio de Livingston, the Caribbean Sea area of the Departamento de Izabal, Guatemala. We had an 18-month research project there, and over six years of projects throughout Peten, especially the Reserva de la Biosfera Maya. These years of field work were accomplished in coordination and cooperation with CONAP, the forestry preservation agency of Guatemala.
These reports are for archaeologists in addition to botanists and ecologists, and for students who wish to do term papers, thesis or PhD dissertation on palms of the Lowland Maya areas of Guatemala. Obviously lots of other species of palms are in the Highlands and in Mexico and Belize. These reports can also be helpful for people around the world who wish to know where to go to in order to experience these biodiverse ecosystems.
Multi-Colored Masses of large berry-sized Fruits of Gaussia Maya Palms, Parque Nacional Tikal (PANAT), RBM, Peten. 40 pages of full-color photos. These are beautiful palms that you can see at Tikal (PANAT), Naranjo-Sa’al and Yaxha areas of PNYNN.
Corozera, Palm Area South of Nakum, Corozera around a giant Ceiba pentandra Parque Nacional Yaxha, Nakum and Naranjo (PNYNN) Reserva de la Biosfera Maya (RBM). 92 pages including map so you can get here yourself.
Solid Corozo Palms around Botan Palms Part 2, Corozera with Botanal north of Yaxha, PNYNN, RBM, Peten, Guatemala. 91 pages; panorama and also aerial photos. These are literal islands of solid palms about 1 kilometer in diameter, surrounded by bajo vegetation.
Palms Found and Photographed on Rivershores and Hillside Ecosystems in Tapon Creek Areas, Izabal. 63 pages of palms.
Leaf-Litter Trap Palma de Corozo Attalea cohune, Tapón Creek Natural Reserve, FUNDAECO, Izabal Awesome photos, 33 pages.
Palm Surviving Beach Sand and Salt Water, Manicaria saccifera Buena Vista Nature Reserve, Tapón Creek Nature Reserve (FUNDAECO) Izabal.
Pimiento Palm, Saw Palmetto Palm, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii. Swamps and Marshes,
of Livingston, Izabal, 49 pages of palm trees.
Tasistal Arroyo Petexbatun Part I: Notes on Tasiste Palm and Tasistal Biome from Ground Level Acoelorrhaphe wrightii. 50 pages of full-page size color photos of an area never studied by a botanist or ecologist.
Tasistal Arroyo Petexbatun Part II: Drone Photographs of this Tasistal
and Tasistal-Tintal Transition Habitat. 29 pages of aerial photos that will show you parts of Guatemala you have never seen before.
Tasistal Arroyo Faisan Part I: Tasiste Palms from Ground Level. 61 pages of panorama views of an area that was an adventure to wade through seasonally flooded tintal bajo to reach this “savanna” of palm, nance, and Crescentia trees.
Tasistal Arroyo Faisan Part II: Drone Photographs of this Tasistal and Tasistal-Tintal Transition Habitat. 21 pages of beautiful aerial photos. To do botanical and ecological field work a good quality drone is essential.
Palm thatch for Q’eqchi Maya houses in rural areas of Alta Verapaz and Izabal, Guatemala. 51 pages of ethnobotany for to learn that there were lots of different thatch materials for Maya houses besides common guano and corozo.
Pacaya palm Chamaedorea tepejilote. The flowers (inflorescence) are edible. 14 pages in PowerPoint format.
Huiscoyol Palms Bactris major and Bactris Mexicana Municipio de Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala. 56 pages of gorgeous photos of palms in remote areas.
Savanna-Tasistal #14 Seasonally Inundated Wetland with solid Tasiste Palm area Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, Palmetto Palm - Part I Parque Nacional Laguna del Tigre (PNLT) Reserva de la Biosfera Maya (RBM) Peten, Guatemala. Over 100 pages of documentation with lots of nice photos.
Tasistal Ecosystem, Savanna #24 Seasonally Inundated Wetlands of Southeastern portion of Parque Nacional Laguna del Tigre (PNLT) Reserva de la Biosfera Maya (RBM) Peten. 35 wide-format pages showing all the tasiste palm but also Crescentia cujete trees that are found in most savannas of the RBM.
Foods for the Classic Maya of Petén: from Wild (uncultivated) Plants of Rain Forests, Savannas and Wetlands. 74 pages of aerial photos, panorama, and close-up. Covers lots of plants in addition to palms. Dozens, scores of wild plants in Peten are edible—don’t need slash and burn milpa agriculture.
