Ecological value: Orange fruit attracts spiny rats, squirrels,capuchins, opossums, peccaries, agoutis, pacas, coatis, and tapeti rabbits who generally eat fallen fruits and disperse the seeds. The agouti and palm have a close relationship as the fruit is one of his most important food-sources: Fruit is collected and seed buried in ground. The agouti will commonly rob each other, digging up and re-distributing seeds elsewhere. The palm's spikes prevents critters from climbing stem. 

Material uses: The wood is used for walking sticks, bows, fishing rods, furniture and basketry.  Plant often cut down for oil processing. Important fiber for local groups: fibers from leaves are used to make furniture, pitchers, plates, trays, coasters, vases, hats, fishing nets etc. 

Edible: Fruit and palm hearts. Harvesting the palm heart (or 'bud') leads to death of plant. 

Other: The trunk of the palm It is covered densely in sharp, flattened black spines up to 20 centimeters long.  Grows tiny white flowers during the rainy seasons of May and June.  Most common in Central Panama in the tropical forests around the Panama Canal. Where demand is high for fiber, the palm has been decimated. In Ecuador it's used in agro-forestry practices. Heavily utilized in Ecuador where it is considered one of the most economically important plants.