Guatemala's Vanishing Harvests

PETÉN Guatemala -- Every few days, Nevy Banegas slips on thick rubber boots and heads into the dense tropical forest to gather xate, a bright green palm so glossy it looks like plastic. Hunching over the short plants, he deftly slices stems with a machete, then hauls his load to an unadorned, one-room building in the center of this tiny village in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Here, residents sort, stack and roll the xate (pronounced “shat-ay”) into brown paper bundles. In a few weeks’ time, the fronds will garnish floral arrangements in U.S. churches and event halls.