Today I received 4 'Peach Palm' (Bactris gasipaes) seeds in the mail, from Serendipityseeds.com (through Amazon), there's very little else information about them. From what I've been able to observe, these palms grow straight up, similar to 'Royal' palms, giving them a noble, elegant appearance.
Looking at the positive side, there are 2 main possibilities: (1) Spineless-trunk variety, and (2) Spiny-trunk variety.
Possibility #1: Spineless 'Peach-Palm'
On the pro side: 'Spineless Peach-Palm' varieties are much less dangerous, thus one has to worry much less about getting poked, and probably easier to climb using primitive technique(s). Cory has reported to have developed a 'Spineless Peach-Palm' variety, grown from seed, that is top notch in all around quality. I hope that he propagates the suckers and seeds of that variety so that he and the world can mutually benefit from it. I've informed him that I'm very willing to assist him in doing just that. I have a sucker from a Spineless variety growing in a pot; although it's from a reputable source, thus increasing my chances for productive quality fruit, it's a sucker from a mother tree that was planted 6 years ago and hasn't fruited yet (it's about 25 feet tall now). I hope that Spineless varieties from suckers bear fruit quicker than from seeds.
On the con side: 'Spineless Peach-Palm' varieties are known to produce less fruit, with fruit quality ßnot being as good as Spiny varieties.( This is one reason why I'm hoping that these 4 seeds are the Spiny type.) I've heard that fruit production takes about 10 years, but not sure if that's from seeds or suckers. 'Peach-Palm' is known to have a lot of genetic variation from one seed to another. (I don't like to have to rely on luck, but if these 4 seeds are the Spineless 'Peach-Palm' variety, I'll probably study the fruit production and quality specs., and then go from there; & make a decision about which to keep, and which to destroy.)
Possibility #2: Spiny 'Peach Palm'
On the pro side: 'Spiny-Peach Palm' are known to be very productive producers of quality fruit; because of the substantial genetic variability from one seed to the next, fruit quality will still vary. This is why I'm hoping that these four seeds are the Spiny type, and thus greatly increase my chances, that at least one will produce abundant quality fruit.
On the con side: 'Spiny Peach-Palm' have those dangerous spines, and thus should be planted in a location that's away from heavy foot traffic. And, because of the genetic variability, it's "like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get," although your chances for quality fruit are increased when compared to the Spineless type.
So, expecting the worst, and hoping for the best, until the next time (God willing).