Attalea taam—a new palm species well known by the Cacua Indigenous people

We describe, illustrate, and map Attalea taam, a new palm (Arecaceae) species from the Colombian Amazon that the Indigenous Cacua people eat and call “táam”. Attalea taam is characterized by the combination of aerial stems with well-marked orange-brown ring-shaped leaf scars, staminate flowers with three stamens with straight anthers and spatulate petals with trichomes in clusters on the adaxial side and ribbed abaxially, and endocarps lacking fibres as seen in a cross-section. It is a dominant canopy species that is key to Cacua food security. Beyond describing a new species, we also extend the known distribution ranges for two Attalea species: A. insignis (“béi” in Cacua) and A. septuagenata (“tah”). Ultimately, our work highlights how participatory research with local communities accelerates taxonomy, knowledge transmission, and promotes equitable and plural science in megadiverse regions.