Xate

Article summary

, Guatemala. Xate (pronounce: shatay ) are the leaves from three Chamaedorea species of palm tree (Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti, Chamaedorea elegans, and Chamaedorea oblongata). The fronds are popular in floristry for flower arrangements, Palm Sunday services and funeral decoration, as they can last up to 40 days after being cut. Estimates have calculated an amount of 400 million stems exported from Guatemala and Belize to North America and Europe every year. There are several plantations of C. oblongata in Mexico and a plantation of C. ernesti-augusti in the Petén region of Guatemala. However, the majority of xate on the international market is the C. oblongata. It is harvested by xateros (a name given to those who harvest xate) from palms in the forests of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. In the past this has led to a dangerous decline in the Xate population. According to the BBC (2012), C. ernesti-augusti (fishtail palm) which has a good market in Europe, had been over-collected in the forests of Guatemala and Mexico and xateros from Guatemala crossed the Belizean border to cut the leaf. In Guatemala the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) took action to protect this valuable natural resource. In 2003 they established standards for the management of naturally growing Xate.…

Key claims

No claims recorded.

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.