Author Topic: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms  (Read 49829 times)

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #25 on: October 05, 2013, 01:09:11 AM »
Oscar, thanks to you, I was able to locate the 'Edible Fruit Palms' at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, they have:

‘Palmyra’ Palm (Borassus flabellifer) of India,
‘Ronier’ Palm (Borassus ethiopum) makes vast forests in West Africa, also known as ‘Black Rhun,’ and
‘Palmyra X Ronier,’ (Borassus flabellifer L. X B. aethiopum) amazing!

Only the ‘Palmyra’ and the ‘Ronier’ have been successfully introduced and are growing here in the U.S. Plant Introduction Garden at Chapman Field.

I would really like to taste the flesh/meat of these palm fruits. It’s interesting how in Asian countries they are quite popular, but not here in South Florida, USA or the Caribbean.
I sure hope that they have reliable, abundant, fruit production here in S. Florida.

I’m not far from FTBG, I can’t wait to pass by and check out the above palms.
« Last Edit: October 05, 2013, 01:10:53 AM by LEOOEL »
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fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #26 on: October 05, 2013, 01:55:05 AM »
Oscar, thanks to you, I was able to locate the 'Edible Fruit Palms' at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, they have:

‘Palmyra’ Palm (Borassus flabellifer) of India,
‘Ronier’ Palm (Borassus ethiopum) makes vast forests in West Africa, also known as ‘Black Rhun,’ and
‘Palmyra X Ronier,’ (Borassus flabellifer L. X B. aethiopum) amazing!

Only the ‘Palmyra’ and the ‘Ronier’ have been successfully introduced and are growing here in the U.S. Plant Introduction Garden at Chapman Field.

I would really like to taste the flesh/meat of these palm fruits. It’s interesting how in Asian countries they are quite popular, but not here in South Florida, USA or the Caribbean.
I sure hope that they have reliable, abundant, fruit production here in S. Florida.

I’m not far from FTBG, I can’t wait to pass by and check out the above palms.

That's very interesting. Didn't know about the cross called Ronier.
BTW to say they are quite popular in Asia is really an understatement. There are areas where the toddy palm is practically the only tree grown. I visited parts of central Myanmar (Burma) where these palms extend for hundreds of miles in every direction, and there are many millions of them.
Here is a roadside vendor with quite a big pile of fruits:
Oscar

EvilFruit

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #27 on: October 05, 2013, 07:37:27 AM »
Maybe.. Mauritia flexuosa !!



Wow, never heard of that one.  Looks surprisingly like salak - are they related?  What's the taste like?

They are from the same subfamily Calamoideae. The fruit is very rich with oil and Beta-carotene (vitamin A). About the taste, I have no idea  :'(.

I ate buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) in Brazil. They grow wild there in any low lands that flood. I thought the fruit was pretty good tasting. Yes it's very oily and rich. My Brazilian host told me a lot of people in Brazil don't like it because of strong taste. It's really more oily than fruity tasting. Probably great mixed with other foods like rice.
If related to salak it's a very distant relative. Buriti doesn't look anything like salak: has no thorns, and is a very tall and large palm.

Thank you for your input, Oscar.

Did you try to grow Buriti in Hawaii ?
« Last Edit: October 05, 2013, 07:43:53 AM by EvilFruit »
Moh'd

fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #28 on: October 05, 2013, 04:48:50 PM »
Maybe.. Mauritia flexuosa !!



Wow, never heard of that one.  Looks surprisingly like salak - are they related?  What's the taste like?

They are from the same subfamily Calamoideae. The fruit is very rich with oil and Beta-carotene (vitamin A). About the taste, I have no idea  :'(.

I ate buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) in Brazil. They grow wild there in any low lands that flood. I thought the fruit was pretty good tasting. Yes it's very oily and rich. My Brazilian host told me a lot of people in Brazil don't like it because of strong taste. It's really more oily than fruity tasting. Probably great mixed with other foods like rice.
If related to salak it's a very distant relative. Buriti doesn't look anything like salak: has no thorns, and is a very tall and large palm.

Thank you for your input, Oscar.

Did you try to grow Buriti in Hawaii ?

I haven't tried yet, but would like to. I'm sure it would be very happy here with high rainfall as it likes to be flooded. This palm is beautiful but takes a lot of room as it is quite large. It is very rare here (i've never seen one). Here are some photos of it that i took while driving around area of Belem (river delta of Amazon river). As you can see it gets quite loaded with fruits:

Oscar

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #29 on: October 07, 2013, 11:33:24 PM »
Come to think of it, if all these 'Edible Fruit Palms' below had good fruit production and produced good quality fruit in South Florida, USA, then much to my surprise, it's not just the Coconut that produces fruit here. It could be said that South Florida, USA is 'Edible Fruit Palm City.'

Coconut: King of the edible fruit palms, there are many different varieties. I have two wishes, wish (1) When I go to a plant festival, I want to see a Coconut fruit display, like those in the photos posted by Forum Member Caldeira. And, wish (2), if I like one or more of the Coconut fruit varieties on display, I want those potted potted coconut trees to be all there, ready to be bought.

Pindo Palm: The trick here is to find an adult (potted) fruit bearing palm, taste the fruit before buying, and having a great quality taste. Unfortunately, I expect such a 'Pindo Palm' specimen to be pricey.

'Vanuatu carpoxylon:' I wonder what's the difference between this palm and those below. Godwilling, I'll find out soon enough at Fairchild. What's the fruit quality and production here in South Florida, USA.

‘Palmyra’ Palm (Borassus flabellifer): What's the fruit quality and production here in South Florida, USA.
‘Ronier’ Palm (Borassus ethiopum): What's the fruit quality and production here in South Florida, USA.
‘Palmyra X Ronier:’ What's the fruit quality and production here in South Florida, USA.

Question, questions, questions...
« Last Edit: October 09, 2013, 10:11:22 PM by LEOOEL »
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EvilFruit

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #30 on: October 09, 2013, 09:18:17 AM »
Maybe.. Mauritia flexuosa !!



Wow, never heard of that one.  Looks surprisingly like salak - are they related?  What's the taste like?

They are from the same subfamily Calamoideae. The fruit is very rich with oil and Beta-carotene (vitamin A). About the taste, I have no idea  :'(.

I ate buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) in Brazil. They grow wild there in any low lands that flood. I thought the fruit was pretty good tasting. Yes it's very oily and rich. My Brazilian host told me a lot of people in Brazil don't like it because of strong taste. It's really more oily than fruity tasting. Probably great mixed with other foods like rice.
If related to salak it's a very distant relative. Buriti doesn't look anything like salak: has no thorns, and is a very tall and large palm.

Thank you for your input, Oscar.

Did you try to grow Buriti in Hawaii ?

I haven't tried yet, but would like to. I'm sure it would be very happy here with high rainfall as it likes to be flooded. This palm is beautiful but takes a lot of room as it is quite large. It is very rare here (i've never seen one). Here are some photos of it that i took while driving around area of Belem (river delta of Amazon river). As you can see it gets quite loaded with fruits:



Thank you Oscar.

The fruit looks tasty. I'm sure It will taste better with coconut milk, cinnamon , nutmeg ,oats, milk and buriti ....The breakfast of the fruit lovers  ;D

BTW, you should try to grow it.   8)
Moh'd

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #31 on: October 09, 2013, 10:47:16 PM »
'Palmeyra' edible palm fruit (picture provided by Forum Member 'Fruitlovers')

[/quote]

Oscar, thank you for providing the fantastic photo of the 'Palmeyra' palm fruit above. That picture explains a lot. If I'm not mistaken, the flesh/meat inside the fruit has a somewhat transparent appearance, as I've seen on a South East Asia cooking show on TV (I think it's called Luke Gnuyen's...).

Today, my phone call got returned from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. I spoke with two of the Plant Doctors there, they were very nice. I got confirmation that the edible fruit palm 'Vanuatu' is about 3" (inches) in length, and it's growing there.

Other edible fruit palms:
Buriti: I'd love to taste the fruit, just like Oscar has. Is it growing at 'F.T.B.G?'
Salak: Sounds familiar but need more info. Is it growing at 'F.T.B.G?'
Pindo: Will find out if it's growing at 'F.T.B.G' in Miami, FL, USA.

I wonder if there are Nurseries here in S. Florida, USA, growing and selling all these wonderful palms. They sure would be great to find. If there are none or very few, I'm sure it won't be long before they start popping all over the place. I suspect that the palms with quality edible fruit will be the ones in most demand.
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fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #32 on: October 10, 2013, 04:20:19 AM »
Salak is a very wonderful fruit, certainly one of top 5 of edible palms. The Bali type of salak is especially nice since it is self pollinating, unlike most salaks, and has wonderful tasting fruits. They have a texture of an apple, but taste similar to a pineapple. It's one of those fruits, like lychee, that once you start eating them you can't hardly stop yourself from eating more, and more, and MORE. The bad news is i think they are fairlty strictly tropical. They're not going to like those arctic blasts you sometimes get in Florida. There are many species of edible salaks, and some of the other species may be more cold hardy. I think Mike T has mentioned this in other threads, but i'll let him chine in again here as he knows more about this.
About finding edible palms in southern Florida: probably most of the palms you're going to find at nurseries specializing in palms are ornamental rather than edible. But each nursery might have a few edible ones also. Unfortunately most palm collectors are mostly in it for the ornamentals. Also a lot of edible palms, like the salak, are extremely thorny, and palm enthusiasts don't fancy them.
Here is a place you can download some free information on edible palms:
http://pdfadvice.info/edible_palms
Oscar

Soren

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #33 on: October 10, 2013, 05:25:34 AM »
Oscar, thanks to you, I was able to locate the 'Edible Fruit Palms' at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, they have:

‘Palmyra’ Palm (Borassus flabellifer) of India,
‘Ronier’ Palm (Borassus ethiopum) makes vast forests in West Africa, also known as ‘Black Rhun,’ and
‘Palmyra X Ronier,’ (Borassus flabellifer L. X B. aethiopum) amazing!

Only the ‘Palmyra’ and the ‘Ronier’ have been successfully introduced and are growing here in the U.S. Plant Introduction Garden at Chapman Field.

I would really like to taste the flesh/meat of these palm fruits. It’s interesting how in Asian countries they are quite popular, but not here in South Florida, USA or the Caribbean.
I sure hope that they have reliable, abundant, fruit production here in S. Florida.

I’m not far from FTBG, I can’t wait to pass by and check out the above palms.

Borassus aethiopum grows in many parts of Africa - including Uganda and within the distribution range, each tribe has its own name for it. The seeds are fairly small and not easy to get to, but the outer fibrous pulp has a bubble-gum smell to it and can be used for making a 'juice' when beaten. It is extremely slow-growing, and tops my list of slow-growers in my collection.
Søren
Kampala, Uganda

fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #34 on: October 10, 2013, 05:29:55 AM »
Oscar, thanks to you, I was able to locate the 'Edible Fruit Palms' at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, they have:

‘Palmyra’ Palm (Borassus flabellifer) of India,
‘Ronier’ Palm (Borassus ethiopum) makes vast forests in West Africa, also known as ‘Black Rhun,’ and
‘Palmyra X Ronier,’ (Borassus flabellifer L. X B. aethiopum) amazing!

Only the ‘Palmyra’ and the ‘Ronier’ have been successfully introduced and are growing here in the U.S. Plant Introduction Garden at Chapman Field.

I would really like to taste the flesh/meat of these palm fruits. It’s interesting how in Asian countries they are quite popular, but not here in South Florida, USA or the Caribbean.
I sure hope that they have reliable, abundant, fruit production here in S. Florida.

I’m not far from FTBG, I can’t wait to pass by and check out the above palms.

Borassus aethiopum grows in many parts of Africa - including Uganda and within the distribution range, each tribe has its own name for it. The seeds are fairly small and not easy to get to, but the outer fibrous pulp has a bubble-gum smell to it and can be used for making a 'juice' when beaten. It is extremely slow-growing, and tops my list of slow-growers in my collection.

They have some very tall Borassus aethiopum palms at Fairchild garden. I remember appreciating them there 1/2 a dozen years ago or more.
Oscar

Mike T

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #35 on: October 10, 2013, 05:48:08 AM »
I recall seeing vast numbers of Borassus in Botswana in the Okavango and the fruit were pretty hard and inedible looking.
There sure seem to be plenty of edible fruited palms in the Brazilian Fruits book. There are many native species here and very few are worthwhile as food or edible. Some of the Calamus species have nice flesh but it is too scant and fruit are small.

fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #36 on: October 10, 2013, 05:54:50 AM »
I recall seeing vast numbers of Borassus in Botswana in the Okavango and the fruit were pretty hard and inedible looking.
There sure seem to be plenty of edible fruited palms in the Brazilian Fruits book. There are many native species here and very few are worthwhile as food or edible. Some of the Calamus species have nice flesh but it is too scant and fruit are small.

Even more edible palms in the Brazilian Palms book:
http://fruitlovers.com/BrazilianFloraArecaceae.html
Oscar

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #37 on: October 12, 2013, 04:55:01 PM »
'Palmeyra' edible palm fruit (picture provided by Forum Member 'Fruitlovers')

[/quote]

Still trying to identify the above edible palm tree fruit by popular and scientific name; I'm quite sure that it's not a Palmeyra.
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fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #38 on: October 12, 2013, 06:50:05 PM »
'Palmeyra' edible palm fruit (picture provided by Forum Member 'Fruitlovers')


Still trying to identify the above edible palm tree fruit by popular and scientific name; I'm quite sure that it's not a Palmeyra.
[/quote]
Yes that photo is palmyra palm, or toddy palm, which like i think i said before is Borassus flabellifer.
Oscar

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #39 on: October 15, 2013, 12:40:03 AM »
Thanks, it's definitely something to go on. Those fruits in the previous picture are big, almost the size of a coconut. As I've mentioned, I've seen on TV that the flesh is sweet and somewhat transparent (reminds me of lychee). If it is in the 'Palmeyra' family, then the other 'Palmeyra' varieties have much smaller fruit? I can't wait to get to the bottom of this Halloween mistery.
« Last Edit: October 15, 2013, 08:25:41 PM by LEOOEL »
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fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #40 on: October 15, 2013, 03:07:15 AM »
Thanks, it's definitely something to go on. Those fruits in the previous picture are big, almost the size of a coconut. As I've mentioned, I've seen on TV that the flesh is sweet and somewhat transparent (reminds me of lychee). If it is in the 'Palmeyra' family, then the other 'Palmeyra' varieties have much smaller fruit? I can't wait to get to the bottom of this Halloween mystery.

The fruits in the photo i posted are quite a bit smaller than coconuts. But as with coconuts, palmyra nuts also come in many different sizes. Yes they have gel and liquid inside, much like a coconut.
Oscar

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #41 on: October 15, 2013, 08:29:10 PM »
Looks like mistery solved, much appreciate it, thanks Oscar. I suppose I'm now on the phase of finding out how's the production and quality in subtropical Miami, FL, USA, Zone 10b.
« Last Edit: October 15, 2013, 10:29:51 PM by LEOOEL »
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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #42 on: October 15, 2013, 10:28:51 PM »
Looks like mistery solved, much appreciate it, thanks. I suppose now I'm on the phase of finding out how's the production and quality in subtropical Miami, FL, USA, Zone 10b.

Let us know please when you find out. Given that David Fairchild was personally interested in and promoted the plantings of these trees my guess is that's it's been tried by quite a few people and gardens. Maybe you could find out if the Palmyra trees at Chapman field ever fruit?
Oscar

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #43 on: October 22, 2013, 01:19:38 AM »
I wonder what's the production and quality of this edible fruit palm here in Florida, USA: Bactris gasipaes - Peach Palm

Peach Palm, Pixbae - very rare exotic fruiting palm. This is RARE spineless variety that fruit does not require peeling!!!
The delicious fruit is a drupe with an edible pulp surrounding the single seed. It may be peeled and dressed with salt and honey, used to make compotes and jellies, or also used to make flour and edible oil. This plant may also be harvested for heart of palm.

http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/09/olymp/2/P5242920.jpg
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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #44 on: October 22, 2013, 01:27:22 AM »
The spineless peach palm was mostly developed for use for hearts of palm, and the ones here produce very little fruit. The ones with great fruit all have mean thorns, but the fruit is very high quality and very nutritious. Reminds me of a good winter squash once boiled. Definitely one of the top 10 fruit producing palms.
Oscar

micah

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #45 on: October 22, 2013, 11:12:45 AM »
Yes ..a couple  of days ago I tried that peach palm fruit that you can eat the peel too.   It was awesome...I think it was boiled with salt.  First time I tried a peach palm...cause I've read that they were ok and lots of work to eat them.  I'm gonna get some in the ground.  I think this variety here in Hawaii is from John Mood.

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #46 on: October 22, 2013, 04:47:02 PM »
Yes ..a couple  of days ago I tried that peach palm fruit that you can eat the peel too.   It was awesome...I think it was boiled with salt.  First time I tried a peach palm...cause I've read that they were ok and lots of work to eat them.  I'm gonna get some in the ground.  I think this variety here in Hawaii is from John Mood.

The only work is that you have to boil them for quite some time. Is that a work?? Yes John has quite a few types. The Waiakea experimental station in Hilo also has a big trial plot with very many different types.
Oscar

LEOOEL

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #47 on: October 25, 2013, 11:32:42 PM »
The spineless peach palm was mostly developed for use for hearts of palm, and the ones here produce very little fruit. The ones with great fruit all have mean thorns, but the fruit is very high quality and very nutritious. Reminds me of a good winter squash once boiled. Definitely one of the top 10 fruit producing palms.
You guys are very lucky that the Peach Palm with mean thorns will produce quality fruit.

I have my doubts whether it'll produce edible fruit in S. Florida, USA, where I'm at. I have a tall, adult, grown, mean thorn palm, that doesnt produce edible fruit. I don't know its scientific name, it just looks pretty in the yard. Its mean thorns are another story, one day, one of its palm stalks fell on someone, who then had to be rushed to the hospital, it almost killed him. It looks like some of these palms can be very dangerous.
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fruitlovers

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #48 on: October 25, 2013, 11:36:50 PM »
The spineless peach palm was mostly developed for use for hearts of palm, and the ones here produce very little fruit. The ones with great fruit all have mean thorns, but the fruit is very high quality and very nutritious. Reminds me of a good winter squash once boiled. Definitely one of the top 10 fruit producing palms.
You guys are very lucky that the Peach Palm with mean thorns will produce quality fruit.

I have my doubts whether it'll produce edible fruit in S. Florida, USA, where I'm at. I have a tall, adult, grown, mean thorn palm, that doesnt produce edible fruit. I don't know its scientific name, it just looks pretty in the yard. Its mean thorns are another story, one day, one of its palm stalks fell on someone, who then had to be rushed to the hospital, it almost killed him. It looks like some of these palms can be very dangerous.

Remember that the palms with edible fruits come from areas where there are lots of rodents and other mammals that would eat the fruits if not protected. Yes they are mean thorns. One of the meanest palms is salak, but has extremely tasty fruit. No pain, no gain?  ;)
Oscar

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Re: Edible Fruit Palm/Palms
« Reply #49 on: November 06, 2013, 11:17:06 AM »
Pindo Palm: The trick here is to find an adult (potted) fruit bearing palm, taste the fruit before buying, and having a great quality taste. Unfortunately, I expect such a 'Pindo Palm' specimen to be pricey.

I've had a couple conversations with a rare fruit guy here (N county san diego) about jelly palms. Dennis Sharmahd. He's done a lot of searching/researching and not had too much luck with Butia Capitata, but has found quite a few really nice Butia Eriospatha (wooly butia or woolly jelly palm). I think he's been crossing them for years or even decades. Says the flavor, size and fiber is much better than capitata. I agree regarding the couple fruits I've had. Sounds like the particular flavor isn't passed on to seedlings but overall quality is. Dennis has a small nursery and does ship out of state. You can PM me for his cell or e-mail (just his full name, no spaces, at gmail).
Shane