Are Chunga Palms Really Dangerous?
The following article contains spoilers for the Apple TV show Pluribus, season 1, episode 7 (“The Gap”). Looking for the biology and facts behind that ominous warning and chilling encounter with the chunga palms in the Darién Gap? Nothing like a surprising episode to pique your interest in botany, eh? Don’t worry, Encyclopædia Britannica has you covered.
Quick recap
Before attempting his solo trek through the harrowing Darién Gap—one of the most dangerous places on Earth—from Colombia to Panama, Manousos is warned (in Spanish) by an Other about the risks.
Please don’t do this. The Darién is too dangerous. It’s over 100 kilometers to Panama. And there are no marked trails.…The tropical forest hosts a remarkable diversity of snakes, spiders, and insects, and many are quite venomous. And then there are the chunga palms. The spines can grow up to 20 centimeters long, and they’re covered in bacteria. Even the smallest cut could lead to a fatal infection.
Later we see Manousos collapse after being deeply impaled by numerous chunga palm spines, leaving horrified viewers wondering: Are chunga palms real and actually this dangerous, or was Hollywood embellishing?
Are chunga palms real?
Chunga palms are real and are known scientifically as Astrocaryum standleyanum. They are native to Central and South American rainforests, from Costa Rica down through Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador, and are found in the Darién region. They thrive in humid, tropical, lowland forests, often in the understory where sunlight is dappled.
Each plant grows up to 15–20 meters (49–66 feet) tall and, like most other palms, is topped with a terminal cluster of large leaf fronds. Unlike most other palms, however, the slender trunk of the chunga palm is densely armored with flat, black, needlelike spines up to 20 cm (8 inches) long, just as the show depicts. Yes, chunga palms are really that intimidating. The dangerous, piercing spines provide a strong physical defense against herbivores seeking to eat or climb the plant, and the leaf stalks and fruit-bearing stems are also armed with smaller spines for further deterrence.
Despite this seemingly unfriendly aspect, the palm is important to Indigenous and local communities for its edible fruits, which are sometimes used as animal fodder, and as a source of palm hearts. The tough leaf fibers are also woven into baskets, hats, bags, hammocks, and other traditional crafts.
Did the show get it right?
There are no published case studies about actual impalements from chunga palms, but the idea that such an injury could be deadly is not completely baseless. The thorns and spines of many plant species are known to harbor harmful bacteria and fungi. The phenomenon is common enough that some ecologists have compared spines and thorns to biological weapons capable of inflicting a debilitating or life-threatening infection, rather than used as simple mechanical defenses. Indeed, studies have found thorns and spines harboring such serious pathogens as Clostridium perfringens, the causative agent of gas gangrene; Bacillus anthracis, which causes anthrax (documented but rare); and Pantoea agglomerans, which can cause wound and bloodstream infections. Fungi are also common on these plant appendages. A puncture from a thorn with Sporothrix, for example, can cause sporotrichosis, a mild to serious infection commonly known as rose gardener’s disease. Mycetoma, a devastating fungal infection often caused by stepping on acacia or other thorns, can lead to limb amputation.
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So although there is no evidence that chunga palm spines routinely carry lethal pathogens, nor are fatal infections from this species documented in medical literature, it seems that Pluribus did not take too many scientific liberties. The warm, humid climate of the Darién Gap is certainly conducive to microbial growth, and given the ubiquity of microbes on the spines and thorns of other plants, it seems logical to assume that harmful bacteria could be present on chunga palms. In addition, the deep puncture wounds sustained by Manousos could easily serve to inoculate a body with pathogens, whether they originated from the spines or from his clothes or skin. With limited water and medical supplies in such an unforgiving environment, a serious infection seems plausible in this scenario. Poor Manousos.
