The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: LEOOEL on September 29, 2013, 11:11:23 PM
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I used to think that the 'date' palm was the only, quality, edible fruit palm. And, I'd always been jealous that it grew in the Spanish Canary Islands, where my grandma was from, but it doesn't bear fruit here in South Florida, USA.
After spending many years looking for a quality fruit bearing palm tree, Forum Member Nullzero recently reported about the 'Pindo' palm tree, for which I'm quite grateful. Now, I'm in the process of finding someone or a nursery that sells a quality specimen.
Today, I learned that another edible fruit palm, 'Vanuatu carpoxylon', which was thought to be extinct, has been found alive and well, and is being propagated here in South Florida, USA!
The following is from an Article "by Kenneth Setzer/Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden: Rare Palm is Lost, then Rediscovered"
"These palms are originally from the remote volcanic island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, about 1,000 miles east of Australia...This palm can grow to an impressive 50 feet tall, though some sources say it can grow much taller... Carpoxylons produce a beautiful large elliptical fruit, two incles or so long, maturing to a deep red. Their descriptive binomial name translaes into something like "large, woody seed." The fruits are edible, evidently tasting like coconut."
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"Fairchild's specimens are flourishing outdoors in our subtropical clime, growing in the bright shade of taller palm species and in our rainsforest. If you have an area that fits the bill, there's no reason you can't grow this rare palm at home."
I wonder which fruit has the best quality fruit, the 'Pindo' palm, or the 'Vanuatu carpoxylon'. From what's known about the 'Pindo' palm fruit, I think it's hard to beat. All in all, some years ago I thought there were no quality fruit palms at my location, and now there are two, now that's what I call progress, thank you 'Fairchild Gardens'. The Article fails to decisively confirm, at least to for me, that this palm bears fruit here. I plan to call Fairchild and see if I can get confirmation.
Link to Article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/28/3652440/from-extinction-to-your-yard-a.html (http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/28/3652440/from-extinction-to-your-yard-a.html)
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Ive seen a couple lists of edible palms that mention quite a number. Daves garden has one for example.
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I haven't counted them, but there are probably hundreds of palms with edible fruits. The most famous are ofcourse are the date, coconut, toddy, acai, and salak (of which there are many species). But in Brazil there are very many that are mostly only used locally, for example tucuma and buruti. If you look at the book Brazilian Flora Arecaceae, which lists all of the palms of Brazil, you can read about dozens of other palms with edible fruits.
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Anyone ever try the palm fruit astrocaryum murumuru? in the book Amazon River Fruits by Nigel Smith, It says its one of the favorite palm fruits for the natives. The spines are gnarly...worse than salaks.
Even th native loulu palm here in Hawaii is good to eat...the bigger fruited ones taste like a gummy coconut ball.
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Ive seen a couple lists of edible palms that mention quite a number. Daves garden has one for example.
Will look into it, thanks.
I haven't counted them, but there are probably hundreds of palms with edible fruits. The most famous are of course are the date, coconut, toddy, acai, and salak (of which there are many species). But in Brazil there are very many that are mostly only used locally, for example tucuma and buruti. If you look at the book Brazilian Flora Arecaceae, which lists all of the palms of Brazil, you can read about dozens of other palms with edible fruits.
Thank you for putting together a nice, informative edible fruit palm list, I appreciate it. Yes, the superstars of edible fruit palms are undoubtedly the coconut and date palms.
The coconut is the king of the palms. It will produce fruit in just about all tropical and subtropical climates.
The date palm produces a fantastic fruit, but it's picky/choosy, it doesn't produce fruit in all tropical/sub-tropical climates, unlike coconut.
I wonder if anyone knows whether the toddy palm will produce fruit in South Florida USA. Is it edible raw?
The fruit has plenty of flesh. I've seen chefs on TV do some tasty looking recipes with it.
I'm pleasantly surprised by your comment that there are dozens of edible fruit palm trees in Brazil.
It would really be something to find in Brazil, a quality edible fruit palm that will produce fruit in just about all tropical and sub-tropical climates, just like the coconut does.
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Betel ;)
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Ive seen a couple lists of edible palms that mention quite a number. Daves garden has one for example.
Will look into it, thanks.
I haven't counted them, but there are probably hundreds of palms with edible fruits. The most famous are of course are the date, coconut, toddy, acai, and salak (of which there are many species). But in Brazil there are very many that are mostly only used locally, for example tucuma and buruti. If you look at the book Brazilian Flora Arecaceae, which lists all of the palms of Brazil, you can read about dozens of other palms with edible fruits.
Thank you for putting together a nice, informative edible fruit palm list, I appreciate it. Yes, the superstars of edible fruit palms are undoubtedly the coconut and date palms.
The coconut is the king of the palms. It will produce fruit in just about all tropical and subtropical climates.
The date palm produces a fantastic fruit, but it's picky/choosy, it doesn't produce fruit in all tropical/sub-tropical climates, unlike coconut.
I wonder if anyone knows whether the toddy palm will produce fruit in South Florida USA. Is it edible raw?
The fruit has plenty of flesh. I've seen chefs on TV do some tasty looking recipes with it.
I'm pleasantly surprised by your comment that there are dozens of edible fruit palm trees in Brazil.
It would really be something to find in Brazil, a quality edible fruit palm that will produce fruit in just about all tropical and sub-tropical climates, just like the coconut does.
I wish what you say about coconuts was true, but it isn't, they don't produce well, and usually not at all, in the subtropics. You can see that very clearly here, they don't fruit well at above 1000 foot elevation, where it is just a tad cooler.
Toddy palms is a lot more widely adapted than coconut. My guess is that it would fruit, at least in southernmost Florida. It also is extremely drought tolerant. I've eaten it many times. It is delicious raw to eat, and to drink, just like coconut.
Really this topic of edible palms is big enough to have it's own forum or sub section in this forum. You may only know of a few edible palms, but that doesn't mean that hundreds don't actually exist.
BTW, another palm product that is very popular, especially in South America, is hearts of palm. This is central core of tree and is made from many different species. Very tasty! Considered connoiseur.
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The Chilean palm (jubaea) has a miniature coconuts the size of a plum............very good tasting....50 years from seed to fruit......and the jelly palm (Butia capitata) much faster growing...fruit the size and similar in taste as the plum....both tolerate temperate zones...as does the date palm with some shelter.........slow growth and may never produce mature fruit......but might produce sap for palm sugar...I have 3 growing under some gums..........tolerating winter night temps of -3c..........
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I have 2 seedling Jubaeas which I'm told will take about 20 years to fruit. They are beautiful, fat palms, fattest of all the palms! The fruit looks and tastes just like a miniature coconut. I have some every time I go to Chile.
Jaime
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20 years.............that's good news...................I got 10 seeds from ebay............I've tried different techniques to germinated them................as I read they are hard to germinate ................They are a really good tasting nut, a bit like a macadam nut....................I am surprised they aren't more common .....a beautiful looking palm................
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Thank you everyone for all your interesting/informative comments.
I gather then that the toddy palm is more suitable to tropical than to sub-tropical conditions. This must be the case since I've never heard of it in S. Florida.
It seems that the best chance/hope to find another quality edible fruit palm is to go on a search expedition to Brazil. The next step would be to determine the climate(s) it likes to bear fruit in.
Another solution to have more edible fruit palms that bear fruit in more climates, is to plant and propagate seedlings. In this way, new and better quality strains will be found.
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Thank you everyone for all your interesting/informative comments.
I gather then that the toddy palm is more suitable to tropical than to sub-tropical conditions. This must be the case since I've never heard of it in S. Florida.
I seems that the best chance/hope to find another quality edible fruit palm is to go on a search expedition to Brazil. The next step would be to determine the climate(s) it likes to bear fruit in.
Another solution to have more edible fruit palms that bear fruit in more climates, is to plant and propagate seedlings. In this way, new and better quality strains will be found.
I just remembered that they have fruiting Borassus aethiopicus at Fairchild gardens. This is a kissing cousin of the toddy palm. If you look for toddy palm in S. Florida my guess is that it's already growing there, you just don't know about it because you never looked for it before. Your local palm society chapter can lead you in right direction.
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Maybe.. Mauritia flexuosa !!
(http://gregneise.fatcow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/14L.jpg)
(http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0207/0097.jpeg)
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(http://s10.postimg.cc/ckw109lid/toddy_palm.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/ckw109lid/)
This candy i ate many times in Thailand, i think it is the toddy palm fruit.
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Here are some Butia capitata or jelly palm fruits
(http://s24.postimg.cc/eoemljnld/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/eoemljnld/)
(http://s24.postimg.cc/lb1aeq59t/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/lb1aeq59t/)
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Here are some Butia capitata or jelly palm fruits
(http://s24.postimg.cc/eoemljnld/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/eoemljnld/)
(http://s24.postimg.cc/lb1aeq59t/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/lb1aeq59t/)
Nice Jelly Palm fruits, looks like a great flesh to seed ratio. How was the taste?
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I found the jelly fruit ok..........very mild taste (almost tasteless, at least the ones I tried in our botanical garden)...easy to eat..............I have some young plants growing ....a good looking fast growing tree..even in my cool climate...............totally recommend..........
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(http://s22.postimg.cc/47bb74qct/image.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
(http://s22.postimg.cc/rhkvp2df1/image.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
(http://s22.postimg.cc/vco9rmwkt/image.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
Here's some bactris sp (setosa?) we grow. It taste good when super ripe..scant pulp, sweet, super crazy spines on the palm...almost not worth it...border plant...keep out! I think it's pretty tropical...for growing
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It seems the 'Toddy Palm' is also called 'Palmyra Palm' There are about 5 different species of the 'Palmyra Palm.'
I called and left a message at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, to inquire about the 'Toddy/Palmyra Palm,' but got no reply; will try again.
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It seems the 'Toddy Palm' is also called 'Palmyra Palm' There are about 5 different species of the 'Palmyra Palm.'
I called and left a message at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, to inquire about the 'Toddy/Palmyra Palm,' but got no reply; will try again.
The Introduction of Borassus Palm into Florida by David Fairchild:
http://www.ftg.org/uploads/docs/CTPC/Javier/OCASSIONAL_PAPERS/Occasional_Paper_No_15.pdf (http://www.ftg.org/uploads/docs/CTPC/Javier/OCASSIONAL_PAPERS/Occasional_Paper_No_15.pdf)
Looks like both Fairchild Gardens and Chapman Field have them.
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Maybe.. Mauritia flexuosa !!
(http://gregneise.fatcow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/14L.jpg)
(http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0207/0097.jpeg)
Wow, never heard of that one. Looks surprisingly like salak - are they related? What's the taste like?
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It seems the 'Toddy Palm' is also called 'Palmyra Palm' There are about 5 different species of the 'Palmyra Palm.'
I called and left a message at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, to inquire about the 'Toddy/Palmyra Palm,' but got no reply; will try again.
There are 5 species of Borassus. Palmyra palm, or toddy palm, are common names referring to the species Borassus flabellifer.
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Maybe.. Mauritia flexuosa !!
(http://gregneise.fatcow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/14L.jpg)
(http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0207/0097.jpeg)
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 :'(.
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Thank you everyone for all your interesting/informative comments.
I gather then that the toddy palm is more suitable to tropical than to sub-tropical conditions. This must be the case since I've never heard of it in S. Florida.
I seems that the best chance/hope to find another quality edible fruit palm is to go on a search expedition to Brazil. The next step would be to determine the climate(s) it likes to bear fruit in.
Another solution to have more edible fruit palms that bear fruit in more climates, is to plant and propagate seedlings. In this way, new and better quality strains will be found.
I just remembered that they have fruiting Borassus aethiopicus at Fairchild gardens. This is a kissing cousin of the toddy palm. If you look for toddy palm in S. Florida my guess is that it's already growing there, you just don't know about it because you never looked for it before. Your local palm society chapter can lead you in right direction.
Borassus aethiopum. My slowest growing tree/palm ...
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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.
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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.
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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:
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/BorassusFlabeliferFruitVendorBurma.jpg)
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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 ?
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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:
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/MauritiaFlexuosaBunchOnTree.jpg)
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/MauritiFflexuosaBunchesOnTree.jpg)
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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...
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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:
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/MauritiaFlexuosaBunchOnTree.jpg)
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/MauritiFflexuosaBunchesOnTree.jpg)
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)
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'Palmeyra' edible palm fruit (picture provided by Forum Member 'Fruitlovers')
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/BorassusFlabeliferFruitVendorBurma.jpg)
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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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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 (http://pdfadvice.info/edible_palms)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 (http://fruitlovers.com/BrazilianFloraArecaceae.html)
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'Palmeyra' edible palm fruit (picture provided by Forum Member 'Fruitlovers')
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/BorassusFlabeliferFruitVendorBurma.jpg)
[/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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'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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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 (http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/09/olymp/2/P5242920.jpg)
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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.
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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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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.
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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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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? ;)
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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).
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Beware the betel...
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/world/asia/myanmar-betel-nut-cancer/index.html?hpt=hp_c3 (http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/world/asia/myanmar-betel-nut-cancer/index.html?hpt=hp_c3)
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There's a bunch of different species of Butias and they are all edible. I'm also growing Butia yatay from northern Argentina. I think that might be one of the most cold hardy. I've not tasted them yet. Plants are quite slow growing, like the capitata. Yatay is the tallest of the Butias. I think there is a national park in Argentina called Yatay.
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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).
If I heard that someone (reliable/...safe and sound...) is selling mature, fruiting 'Pindo Palms' and are also offering tastings to serious customers, I would seriously consider doing just that, even if it's on the other side of the continent. I was traumatized by a web video showing some guy eating a juicy, quality 'Pindo Palm' fruit, and now I just gotta have it.
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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).
I have tasted the fruit in person (they were very tasty) and decided to buy a few seedlings in the past.
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Leooel, shoot him an email. End of fruiting season right now and they should survive shipping. Doubt he has mature trees for sale though.
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Now I'm more traumatized. ;D
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unreported in the literature the kernel of Butia eriospatha tastes exactly like coconut . I would think other species of Butia the same
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I've never looked into growing any sort of palm, but you guys got me curious. The fruit looks amazing (as in, I'm gonna have to try some)! I happen to like eating heart of palm (veggie). For those curious, the Discovery channel did a "how it's made" on heart of palm here: http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm (http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm)
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unreported in the literature the kernel of Butia eriospatha tastes exactly like coconut . I would think other species of Butia the same
Thats interesting. Dennis mentioned that he had some fruits that tasted like coconut, but I think he was talking about the flesh.
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I've never looked into growing any sort of palm, but you guys got me curious. The fruit looks amazing (as in, I'm gonna have to try some)! I happen to like eating heart of palm (veggie). For those curious, the Discovery channel did a "how it's made" on heart of palm here: http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm (http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm)
Two things that turn me off about edible fruit palms:
(1) Consumption of the Heart of Palms will kill the palms themselves. I don't have much experience with this but, I'm sure the palms will take a long time to grow. So, I guess it would be fair to say that people who consume heart of Palms are palm killers. How ironic, I'm a carnivore whose more worried about killing palms, interesting. I'm not sure that Heart of Palm can be considered an edible fruit palm, unless you consider the whole palm a fruit, which is fine by me.
(2) There seems to be limited general knowledge on edible fruit palms. This may be a perfect opportunity for someone to fill several acres full of different species of just edible fruit palms. This may be a perfect business opportunity for a startup, since this specific industry niche is virgin territory. I know of no one/nursery in my S. Florida, USA, area that is doing anything like this.
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I've never looked into growing any sort of palm, but you guys got me curious. The fruit looks amazing (as in, I'm gonna have to try some)! I happen to like eating heart of palm (veggie). For those curious, the Discovery channel did a "how it's made" on heart of palm here: http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm (http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm)
Two things that turn me off about edible fruit palms:
(1) Consumption of the Heart of Palms will kill the palms themselves. I don't have much experience with this but, I'm sure the palms will take a long time to grow. So, I guess it would be fair to say that people who consume heart of Palms are palm killers. How ironic, I'm a carnivore whose more worried about killing palms, interesting. I'm not sure that Heart of Palm can be considered an edible fruit palm, unless you consider the whole palm a fruit, which is fine by me.
(2) There seems to be limited general knowledge on edible fruit palms. This may be a perfect opportunity for someone to fill several acres full of different species of just edible fruit palms. This may be a perfect business opportunity for a startup, since this specific industry niche is virgin territory. I know of no one/nursery in my S. Florida, USA, area that is doing anything like this.
That is only true of certain species. Other species, for example, peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) is a clumping palm, so you cut one palm for the heart and the side shoots continue growing...similar to bananas. You don't really kill the whole plant. With solitary non clumping palms the whole plant is killed. Many species are used for hearts of palm.
There is plenty of knowledge on edible palms. It's just hard to access right now because it's in a lot of different places, and some in foreign languages. It would be great to have a book in english just on edible palms. I think that is what is needed to get more people growing them.
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I did not know that the heart of the Peach Palm was also edible, now that is a 'Super Duper Edible Palm/Palms' in my book. If I can find this palm at my location, I think I'm purchasing it.
Yes, I also wish there were some extensive english book also, about edible fruit palms. In the mean time, we'll have to take on this job ourselves in this Thread (humbly speaking) and in this Forum, where progress on this has been definitely been made, in my opinion. I have very little to no interest in Palms that are not edible, although I'm aware and do appreciate the beauty of some palms like 'Royal Palms' and other palms that produce extremely bright red un-edible fruit.
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I did not know that the heart of the Peach Palm was also edible, now that is a 'Super Duper Edible Palm/Palms' in my book. If I can find this palm at my location, I think I'm purchasing it.
Yes, I also wish there were some extensive english book also, about edible fruit palms. In the mean time, we'll have to take on this job ourselves in this Thread (humbly speaking) and in this Forum, where progress on this has been definitely been made, in my opinion. I have very little to no interest in Palms that are not edible, although I'm aware and do appreciate the beauty of some palms like 'Royal Palms' and other palms that produce extremely bright red un-edible fruit.
The peach palm is the main palm here used for hearts of palm. There is one book in English that would be helpful to you called Palms for Development, all about edible and useful palms. It's in a CD format. You can buy it here. It's in english and 168 pages, by Franklin Martin:
http://www.echobooks.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=60 (http://www.echobooks.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=60)
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That seems to be a good CD about palms, thanks.
My favorite fruit palms are of course the ones that I can grow in my area, those that are fast growers, produce fruit quick, reliably, year after year and taste just great.
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(Borrowing a quote from Dongeorgio)
"Gentlemen,"
Some technologies are made for one another. And, when you put them together in a way that works, it's called innovation. (stay with me)
For example, the 'Pindo Palm' has been mentioned on this Forum that the fruit quality can vary from one plant to another in similar conditions. If everything is the same, the only culprit left to blame is 'genetics.' Which is no surprise, we're all aware that when plants Are Not propagated by a grafting method, we are essentially rolling the 'genetic' dice.
Now, if this is the general case, that the quality of all edible fruit palm trees vary from one palm tree to another, how do we fix this 'problem.' Since I've never heard of anyone grafting or air-layering an edible fruit palm, I'm going to assume that it's impossible.
So, what are we left with, other than: "I have an excellent quality edible fruit palm tree, that I'm most likely to never see such quality again when it dies."
Well, my solution is, why not clone the darn thing. I mean how hard could it be. Full disclosure, I haven't yet looked into cloning excellent palm trees that are of excellent quality, but just you wait. If this were feasible and someone were doing something like this, there would probably be a long line of people waiting to buy those edible fruit palms of superior intellect ;) and I'd be one of them (people in line that is).
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With peach palm, should be able to propagate by division. Since its a clumping palm. Btw, Peach palm seeds are starting to germinate now :).
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That is great news, best of luck with them.
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That is great news, best of luck with them.
The seedlings have been sitting on the heating mat for the last month, I decided to take them off because nothing was happening. Its been 4 months or so in a damp Sphagnum moss (the none shredded), coco coir, and perlite mix. I put the seedlings under my desk near the computer for the last 2 weeks. I am happy to report multiple seedlings are pushing white root nubs now.
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Here's one more edible palm fruit...first harvest I picked it too young though..this is just one part of the fruit..Yarina palm...phytelephas macrocarpa ...clumping seems to be trunk less so far...young fruit water drinkable ( like coco). When older soft inside like soft coco meat, then when mature its solid (vegetable ivory) and used for carving ornamentals. Likes shade...male/female plants.
Aloha!
(http://s23.postimg.cc/r8l8pxlbr/image.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
(http://s23.postimg.cc/9h9mbh5x3/image.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
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Micah, and everyone else, when you post photos on postimage please select for photo to be accesible in original size, otherwise cannot blow up your photo when clicking on tiny thumbnail photo.
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(http://s10.postimg.cc/h5ihcedb9/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/h5ihcedb9/)
(http://s10.postimg.cc/n2mct7ug5/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/n2mct7ug5/)
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Mahalo Oscar!!!
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I've never seen anything like it. I'm getting thoughts of wanting to taste it. I'm also wondering if there are palms with similar but bigger fruit. Thank you for your postings, Hawaii is surely an incredible fruit tree place.
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I've got growing the other type of ivory nut: Metroxylon carolinensis. But don't know if that one is edible? It hasn't fruited yet.
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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 (http://pdfadvice.info/edible_palms)
Salaks are vicious thorny. The only ones I've had were the Balinese variety, very good. Excalibur carries salak, instock may be another issue. I don't know what variety they have.
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I've never seen anything like it. I'm getting thoughts of wanting to taste it. I'm also wondering if there are palms with similar but bigger fruit. Thank you for your postings, Hawaii is surely an incredible fruit tree place.
I think they do get bigger...this was one of those... first time experimental early harvest failures that i do.. :( . cause I wanted to eat the sweet translucent jelly that it becomes at a certain stage, before it solidifies.
This book: Palms Sentinels For Amazon Conservation. By Michael Goulding and Nigel Smith..is cool...it says the pulp around the seed is edible too when ripe..
Here's some pics from the book.
(http://s24.postimg.cc/3xcas3xpt/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/3xcas3xpt/)
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Yes salaks are vicious thorny and once punctured the wound hurts for a long time. I think they have some kind of toxin they inject you with that makes it quite painful and difficult to heal. They are best planted well away from usual walking paths. The fronds that fall on ground are very thorny as well as the trunks.
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How about this (baby steps)
Step 1, find a Salak that will reliably produce plenty of fruit in sub-tropical South Florida, USA; it would be great if a local nursery, such as Excalibur, were to sell it. Something tells me that finding a tree like this may not be an easy feat.
Step 2, once such a Salak tree is finally found, have the University of Florida genetically modify it, to produce a Salak palm tree that has none of those "vicious thorns."
In my yard I have a few, beautiful palm trees with extremely dangerous thorns that once sent someone to the hospital, after a severe puncture. So, if I were to find a productive, quality fruit, Salak Palm for my area, I would probably be getting it in a jippy.
I eat Palm thorns for breakfast, lunch and dinner baby. ;)
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The best way to get a nursery to consider stocking edible palms is to have a bunch of people calling them requesting edible palms. Getting thornless salaks may be easier as they already exist. But don't know how good their fruit quality is or if they would ever survive in Florida.
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Chilean Wine Palm has been mentioned (Jubaea), but not the parajubaea mini-coconuts: Parajubaea Torallyi and Parajubaea Cocoides. Came across the later reading the "lost crops of the incas". Former might be a better bet.
Hybrids of jubaea/parajubaea and butia have also been described, but I can't find a report on the fruit/nut result.
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Speaking of salak, anyone know how red salak compares to Bali salak? I'm growing both.
Funky plants they are, every stage from germination on up. They even spend a couple weeks or so looking like a dead stick after breaking the soil before opening up their first leaves. And they start putting out those thorns at the same time - major defense adaptations. I wonder if they're evolutionary adapted to defend against large rattites (Moa, etc) like P. crassifolius was shown to have?
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I grow red and white bali salak. To me the red taste better...a little more aromatic...a little bit more red #40 tasting. Kind of a slight sweet red candy flavor.
Maybe it cause they look so cool though...and how new they are to me...that always makes it taste better. :)
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I grow red and white bali salak. To me the red taste better...a little more aromatic...a little bit more red #40 tasting. Kind of a slight sweet red candy flavor.
Maybe it cause they look so cool though...and how new they are to me...that always makes it taste better. :)
micah, you're very lucky, enjoy, and thank you for your wonderful description of eating a red salak, definitely exotic.
I'm jealous, in a good/positive way, that you guys in Hawaii are way more ahead than us folks here in S. Florida as far as 'Edible Fruit Palms' go.
In my opinion, 'Edible Fruit Palms' in South Florida is an industry that is just waiting to explode.
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Palms are awesome!
Yes I'd say big $ in palms...
in Hawaii know most residents don't know what salaks are...or most edible palms. That dwarf acai will probably be very popular. Although I'm not sure if it taste good...with out sweetener.
It's all pretty new to me too very exciting. :D
Those palms have a place in the orchard...to me as a companion plant..mulch maker.
Best
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This article makes me wonder whether it's true that 'Malayan Dwarfs' are the best coconuts on Earth. It also makes me want to go out and find out about the qualities of this variety. Oh yeah, it also makes me want to find one and eat it.
“Crazy for Coconuts” (Miami Beach natives, Florida, USA, business owners, brother-sister team Mike and Danielle Zig) The Miami Herald; newspaper article by: Maria Tettamanti; Feb. 5, 2014.
Interviewer:…Your Malayan Dwarf coconuts hail from a 110-year-old family-run farm off a remote island near the coast of El Salvador. What makes them so special?
My friend’s great-grandfather had a taste for the finer things in life, from cars, planes to coconut water. He specifically chose these coconuts because they are the best-tasting on Earth.
Coconut water is clearly having a moment; what are the health benefits?
It’s basically getting an IV sans the needle – it’s loaded with potassium, electrolytes and low on sugar…
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Palms are awesome!
Yes I'd say big $ in palms...
in Hawaii know most residents don't know what salaks are...or most edible palms. That dwarf acai will probably be very popular. Although I'm not sure if it taste good...with out sweetener.
It's all pretty new to me too very exciting. :D
Those palms have a place in the orchard...to me as a companion plant..mulch maker.
Best
Dwarf acai is not one that's easy to eat out of hand. The pulp around the seed is extremely thin. Takes some mechanization and a whole lot of seeds to remove and come up with a sizeable amount of pulp to eat. Yes, a little bit of sweetener mixed in with the pulp is nice as it tends to be a bit bitter otherwise.
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I grow red and white bali salak. To me the red taste better...a little more aromatic...a little bit more red #40 tasting. Kind of a slight sweet red candy flavor.
Maybe it cause they look so cool though...and how new they are to me...that always makes it taste better. :)
The eyes can do funny things to the taste buds.
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I grow red and white bali salak. To me the red taste better...a little more aromatic...a little bit more red #40 tasting. Kind of a slight sweet red candy flavor.
Maybe it cause they look so cool though...and how new they are to me...that always makes it taste better. :)
The eyes can do funny things to the taste buds.
Yes they can! even now....I can picture those red salaks...and my taste buds start salivating, differently than when I picture the white salak. I'd say they do have a slightly different (better) flavor.
:)
(http://s16.postimg.cc/a6lkejstt/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/a6lkejstt/)
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Micah your red balis (variety boni) will be better than most whites but gula pasir which has paler fruit is reputedly the best but boni is right up there.The more than dozen other white fleshed bali salaks (all are Salacca zalacca subs. amboina) are hard to tell apart.
(http://s28.postimg.cc/rks8f9dyh/DSCF6024.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/rks8f9dyh/)
I picked these bali salaks in the market yesterday and these are 3 larger multi-loculed fruit.
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Hello all!
I would like to know species of palm trees that have good fruits for consumption in fresh. I already have cocos nucifera and salacca zalacca, and I know dates of course. Thank you!
Best wishes,
Joăo Franco
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Salacca wallichiana, salacca affinis, Astrocaryum aculeatum, Calamus ornatus, Maximiliana maripa, Jubaea chilensis, those I've already tasted.
Gouralata (Reunion Island)
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I am currently germinating Akuyuro Astrocaryum from Guyana. Tastes like oily peanut...
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Thanks!
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The Mighty Acai..
Ed
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http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Attalea_butyracea (http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Attalea_butyracea)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrocomia_aculeata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrocomia_aculeata)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactris_gasipaes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactris_gasipaes)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactris_setulosa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactris_setulosa)
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Previous thread on edibile palms: http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=7554.msg97041#msg97041 (http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=7554.msg97041#msg97041)
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Hi everyone! Any one knows if there are any açai palm tree that can stand -3C? Thank's! ;)
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Butia capitata is freak'n tasty...very refreshing with apricot and pineapple flavor. :)
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now you have me intrigued. Sounds delicious
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Butia capitata is freak'n tasty...very refreshing with apricot and pineapple flavor. :)
Very beautiful palm also, with bluish tinge colored fronds. Also quite cold tolerant. Down side is that they are quite slow growing. Also there is quite a lot of variation in fruit quality. Some are not so good. But yes some can taste like candy!
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I've never looked into growing any sort of palm, but you guys got me curious. The fruit looks amazing (as in, I'm gonna have to try some)! I happen to like eating heart of palm (veggie). For those curious, the Discovery channel did a "how it's made" on heart of palm here: http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm (http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-heart-of-palm.htm)
Thanks for the video. Of course, no that I have seen it, I want to grow palm hearts. I thought they had to get a lot more size before being cut, but it seems if i choose the right species, it could be quite easy. Thanks.
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Larry Noblick, Palm Biologist, will share a Talk, ... about "which (edible?) palms have done well in South Florida."
Dr. Noblick will also "share how he became a palm biologist and some of his adventures in collecting and studying palms in South America and other parts of the world."
I look forward to tap into the Dr's. vast knowledge and experiences with palms, and ask him to please also talk about edible fruit palms for South Florida, the best edible varieties for South Florida, and where to obtain them.
Talk time and location: February 22, 2016; 7:00 - 9:00 PM (tomorrow) Free
Fairchild Tropical Garden
10901 Old Cutler Road
Coral Gables, FL
http://events.miamiherald.com/venue.aspx?venue_id=5363&perf_id=2283613 (http://events.miamiherald.com/venue.aspx?venue_id=5363&perf_id=2283613)
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(http://s21.postimg.cc/6wpny4ng3/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/6wpny4ng3/)
http://www.palms.org/principes/1996/vol40n2p93-102.pdf (http://www.palms.org/principes/1996/vol40n2p93-102.pdf) Some info on the carpoxylon. Thanks for starting this thread guys, now I wanna grow some palms and since they are palms I think I can sneak them onto my yard without my wife noticing, she said no more fruit trees lol! The carpoxylon is a beautiful fruit though not much info on taste, whereas the snake fruit is and interesting option from taste reports and I like the hearts of palm idea too.
-joep450
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(http://s21.postimg.cc/6wpny4ng3/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/6wpny4ng3/)
http://www.palms.org/principes/1996/vol40n2p93-102.pdf (http://www.palms.org/principes/1996/vol40n2p93-102.pdf) Some info on the carpoxylon. Thanks for starting this thread guys, now I wanna grow some palms and since they are palms I think I can sneak them onto my yard without my wife noticing, she said no more fruit trees lol! The carpoxylon is a beautiful fruit though not much info on taste, whereas the snake fruit is and interesting option from taste reports and I like the hearts of palm idea too.
-joep450
Welcome Joep450, and thank you for that awesome photo of the carpoxylon fruit. Finding out about the quality and taste of the fruit is now in my bucket list. BTW, you really cracked me up on the story about bringing edible fruit palm trees to your yard, that's a real good one, lol. But, it's a win win situation, to have beautiful palm trees with edible fruit!
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By carpoxylon being a beautiful fruit, I meant to say beautiful Palm, resembling a foxtail Palm.
-joep450
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Well, I just got back from the talk by the palm Dr., Larry Noblick at Fairchild Tropical Gardens. It was my honor to meet, listen and share a few words with him. Although he's an expert who specializes in palms, he has many other degrees.
As I mentioned yesterday, the free talk was held at Fairchild. The talk had an enjoyable ambiance of which no one else can put together like Fairchild Tropical Gardens.
I was able to take some quick notes on my iPhone, whose battery was about all gone, but was very glad to be able to switch to low battery mode with no problems after that. So, thank you Apple.
I was lucky to get a hold of Dr. Noblick before he began the lecture, and I asked him to please also talk about edible fruit palms, considering his vast experience and travels in the tropical locations of the world. Although he told me that edible fruit palms were not his expertise, he is aware of edible fruit palms like the peach palm and a few others.
The guy is amazing, he learned how to go up just about any kind of palm tree with a contraption (called a jepa? or something like that) that consists of two metal chords, each with a piece of specially design wood for each foot, so that that when stepped on will support the weight of the climber as he goes of a palm tree. It's a very ingenious contraption. One piece would go around the palm tree and the ending part of it would kind of wrap around the lower portion of one leg, while the other piece would also wrap around the palm tree and the ending part would wrap around the waist. I found it truly amazing and I was like, I've 'gotta' get me one of those things. Dr. Noblick bought his contraption while in Brazil for $40.
The lecture was very interesting. He's been to just about every tropical location in the world where palms grow. He's discovered and named new palm species, and in the professional slide show were shown a myriad of all types of different types of palm species, exotic-beautiful palms, fat palms, thin palms, giant palms, super dwarf one foot tall palms... And, there were indeed some very interesting and exciting edible fruit palm species in the slide show.
Of the several edible fruit palms he mentioned during the speech, the one that garnered the most attention of everyone in the audience, including myself, was the double coconut seed palm, found in the Seychelle Islands. I garbled the scientific name when I wrote it down: Lidoices?-Maldivian. After the lecture, I spent some time talking with Dr. Noblick, and he told me that inside the gigantic double coconut seed is quite a good amount of edible food!
Finally, I couldn't help but to ask Dr. Noblick about his opinion on the new precise gene manipulation technology called CRISPR/CAS9, with regards to doing some fine tuning of palm genes like the coconut palm to improve the quality and productivity of coconut trees. Although he was not aware of this technology yet, I was not surprised after taking from the lecture that he's a very hands on, in the field, traveling scientist, and not locked up in a lab someplace. And, also because the CRISPR/CAS9 technology is still so brand new at just about 4 years old.
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Lodoicea maldivica, commonly known as Coco de Mer. Your best bet is to read about it, that is most likely the closest you will get to a fruit or fruiting tree.
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Thanks, that's the name of the double coconut seed palm, Lodoicea maldivica.
This variety is only found in the Seychelle Islands according to Dr. Noblick. And, you're right, according to Noblik, the citizens of the Seychelle Islands are guarding this variety like it was gold and preventing its propagation, in any way whatsoever, of either the coconut seed or the palm tree, outside of their islands.
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Butia capitats i tried from different trees and ones are not a big thing but I tryed one that it was exquisite. A mix between pina and orange. Delicious
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There are fruiting Coco De Mer at Foster Botanical Gardens in Hawaii (dont know if they are fruiting now but did in the past).
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One of the very few Coco de Mer collectors in the PH - the others are in private gardens and not open to the public ever.
https://renz15.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/dr-coronel-exotic-fruit-farm-tour/
Price range still way out of my league- hope is a good thing though! I at least know where to find one close by if ever the time comes I'm able to afford it.
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Thanks, that's the name of the double coconut seed palm, Lodoicea maldivica.
This variety is only found in the Seychelle Islands according to Dr. Noblick. And, you're right, according to Noblik, the citizens of the Seychelle Islands are guarding this variety like it was gold and preventing its propagation, in any way whatsoever, of either the coconut seed or the palm tree, outside of their islands.
I wouldn't say that is true. The double coconut has been taken out of Seychelles hundreds of times. The government of Seychelles is trying to protect the plant from becoming extinct in its native habitat. There were too many nuts being taken out of the country. Recently they imposed very high fees for a certificate to be issued that allows the nuts to be sold.
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There are fruiting Coco De Mer at Foster Botanical Gardens in Hawaii (dont know if they are fruiting now but did in the past).
One of the trees at Fosters went down quite some time ago and the remaining tree does not get pollinated, so no fruits. But the double coconut exists in private collections here. But most of the trees are too young to fruit. This is a slow growing tree that takes an extremely long time to fruit.
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Lodoicea maldivica, commonly known as Coco de Mer. Your best bet is to read about it, that is most likely the closest you will get to a fruit or fruiting tree.
Even if you go to Seychelles Islands and get close to a fruiting tree you wouldn't want to eat the nut because they are extremely valuable, as well as protected.
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There is a waiting list for it on this end as it takes 2 years from planting to getting a proper grown seedling - one with about 4 fronds thereabouts. Aside from the steep price for larger sizes (guaranteed I won't be able to kill those out of neglect!) but was told that some other locals have fruiting trees as well they just prefer to grow seedlings for giving away to family members as some kind of fancy Christmas pressie.
Google search shows.coconuts still taste better? I wonder if I can pop in for a farm visit and ask to eat one outright - I'll prob get banned for life. :) we should hope we have a member who has managed to taste one so we have first-hand feedback as to whether it is at par or better than Coconut.
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There is a waiting list for it on this end as it takes 2 years from planting to getting a proper grown seedling - one with about 4 fronds thereabouts. Aside from the steep price for larger sizes (guaranteed I won't be able to kill those out of neglect!) but was told that some other locals have fruiting trees as well they just prefer to grow seedlings for giving away to family members as some kind of fancy Christmas pressie.
Google search shows.coconuts still taste better? I wonder if I can pop in for a farm visit and ask to eat one outright - I'll prob get banned for life. :) we should hope we have a member who has managed to taste one so we have first-hand feedback as to whether it is at par or better than Coconut.
I think only the ultra rich can indulge in them as each seeds is worth several hundred dollars! :o
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Wikipedia says they are dioecious Oscar! If macapuno can be tissue cultured all over the ASEAN member states, how come nobody thought of TC'ing Coco de Mer - at least for conservation purposes! I mean dates are dioecious as well and people tissue culture both male and female trees for commercial planting...
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This was my reply to a pmail question about a Peach Palm that was not fruiting:
What I have learned about Peach Palm fruits is, that the quality of seedlings vary greatly from one to the other.
The plant biologist that presented the lecture I attended, said that the best way to propagate Peach Palm is not by seeds but by propagating the shoots of quality Peach Palm varieties. These shoots grow on its sides.
Nevertheless, great varieties are produced from seeds when many seeds are planted and the best offspring is chosen.
Technology is changing very rapidly. Just as we Humans have been able to transfer the gene that makes a fish glow in the dark and transfer it to kittens that make them glow in the dark, I believe that within 10 years we'll be able to also make radical but important gene transfers between plant species, so that the quality of fruit produced by palms is improved.
For example, there is currently an undergoing effort to extend Human longevity along with a youthful vigorous health, whereas millions of people are having whole body MRI's, and their genome sequenced. Then, all this metadata from the millions of people is fed into supercomputers, analyzed, and the relevant findings will dictate the necessary course of action to obtain a perpetually healthy extreme longevity.
Currently an obstacle to speed things up is that it costs $1,000 to sequence just one genome. But, prices are quickly coming down, just about 10 years ago, sequencing one genome cost many millions of dollars.
What I'm trying to say is that 'when' the price of sequencing the genome of regular fruit trees and palms comes down to just a few dollars (or less) per genome, then amazing gene transfers will likely be made from regular fruit bearing trees to fruit bearing palm trees, using currently available technology such as CRISPR/CAS9. The culmination of this research effort, would then be palm trees that finally and easily yield 'date' fruit in my subtropical temperature zone of Miami, Florida, USA. But, more importantly, we will possibly see palm trees that yield exotic fruit such as mango fruit, or palm trees that bear lychee fruit, or palm trees that bear sapodilla fruit, ...avocado fruit, ...tamarind, ...Spanish-lime... If history is a good indicator, as mentioned above, this could be taking place in approximately 10 years.
The advantage for palm trees to bear these type of fruits is that many/most fruit tree hobbyists only have a small yard to grow fruit trees that take up a lot of space. On the other hand, palm trees are very compact and thus, many more palm trees with each yielding different species of fruit-tree fruits, could easily fit in most small yards.
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On the previous page you wrote about Jelly Palm....someone said there are big differences among plant as size and taste of their fruits...so, are there some selected Jelly Palms? Are know cultivar with specific characteristics?
Somewhere i read that there should be a Dwarf Jelly Palm that should be also more cold-hardy than other....
There is also confusion about phylogeny....Butia capitata and Butia odorata are different species? or Butia odorota is just a cultivar of Butia capitata? which are the differences between this two palms?
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Anyone have any advice whether Metroxylon sagu - Sagu palm - and regular Acai palm will thrive in brackish water or better put them beside a rainwater catchment pond? I've been getting conflicting advice from locals - and when I asked the nursery I got them from they went sheepish and said no idea, everything is just watered with tap water left out for a week. So the only thing I took away from that convo is water with water that the chlorine and flouride has already been evaporated away.
Spacing also? Is 20m x 20m far apart enough for Sagu given its suckering tendency? I'm assuming Acai will be same as Arenga pinnata more manageable and will be fine with 8m x 8m? Thanks much!
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In my opinion, the edible fruit palm industry is still in its infancy, even though there is an industry for the edible 'date' fruit palm.
I don't know of anyone having a quality variety of the peach palm that has been named as a specific cultivar. IMO, if you do find such a peach-palm specimen, try to name it and propagate it as much as you can. Selling quality cultivars is an excellent way to propagate quality peach palms. Oh, and please let me know if you do find one. ;)
On the previous page you wrote about Jelly Palm....someone said there are big differences among plant as size and taste of their fruits...so, are there some selected Jelly Palms? Are know cultivar with specific characteristics?
Somewhere i read that there should be a Dwarf Jelly Palm that should be also more cold-hardy than other....
There is also confusion about phylogeny....Butia capitata and Butia odorata are different species? or Butia odorota is just a cultivar of Butia capitata? which are the differences between this two palms?
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On the previous page you wrote about Jelly Palm....someone said there are big differences among plant as size and taste of their fruits...so, are there some selected Jelly Palms? Are know cultivar with specific characteristics?
It is my understanding....
Pindo/Jelly palm seeds are highly variable in fruit quality. You can't exactly graft or air-layer these things, so unless they pup, tissue culture would be the only option. I think I said before, these are not currently cultivated for their fruit, only for their ornamental value. I suppose there is a market niche there.
Here is one of mine, not the best picture for it, but I neglected it, the thing is trying to climb out of the pot! about 3 inches. They are definitely hardy. Since repotted.
(http://s14.postimg.cc/i7e9kbad9/Pindo_Palm.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/i7e9kbad9/)
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On the previous page you wrote about Jelly Palm....someone said there are big differences among plant as size and taste of their fruits...so, are there some selected Jelly Palms? Are know cultivar with specific characteristics?
Somewhere i read that there should be a Dwarf Jelly Palm that should be also more cold-hardy than other....
There is also confusion about phylogeny....Butia capitata and Butia odorata are different species? or Butia odorota is just a cultivar of Butia capitata? which are the differences between this two palms?
I believe Dennis Sharmahd here in San Diego is trying to breed a better B. Eriospatha. Its been a couple years since he mentioned it to me.
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Finally, I was able to get my hands on a 'Spineless-Peach-Palm (Bactris gasipaes)' pup. I've done my part: It's already potted in great soil, watered, and in full Sun. I sure hope it survives the process and starts to thrive & grow; now the waiting game begins.
The 'Peach Palm' is also known as: Pixbae; Pewa.
"...It is widely cultivated in the New World tropics for its edible fruit and palm hearts...people have utilized it for many thousands of years...Analysis performed by experts has confirmed that as food, it is the tropical fruit that is the most balanced and the most nourishing, because it contains more protein than the avocado, has twice the protein value of the banana, and its nutritional value is comparable to the hen's egg but without the cholesterol..."
I plan to let the pups grow around the main palm trunk, and harvest their heart-of-palm when they're about 12-14 feet tall.
It's incredible, just about everything in the Peach-Palm is either edible or usable!
I've heard that Peach-Palms with Spines produce much more abundant fruit, but I'll take my chances to find out what the real fruit production is with this one I have.
This is another case of a great fruit producing palm tree, with the only major problem being that with productive varieties, they have many nasty spines on the trunk.
So, if someone is an expert with the new & easy to use gene editing technology 'Crispr-Cas9,' and can remove the nasty spines, then that'll be great and I'll be among the first to buy the new cultivar at a reasonable price. Otherwise, we may just have to wait on the so called 'Singularity' to arrive in about 30 years, to buy a productive Peach-Palm without the spines.
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My favorite is Butia eriosophata.or something similar. It grows naturally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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About spineless peach palm, its productivity and oil content:
I’ve grown peach palms here in Haiti since 2009. I bought “spineless” seeds that year from RarePalmSeeds.com and most grew spineless. Several more orders from RarePalmSeeds and other sources usually didn’t germinate. The original trees were growing so well and I couldn’t find a reliable source of seed so in 2014 I went to Costa Rica to get a good genetic diversity of seed. I have about 520 planted out on about 3 acres. The goal is to get a good source of seeds and seedlings to distribute in Haiti for development, food security, and helping our mission churches.
Last year many of the original trees started fruiting. Most of the thornless fruits are similar and low oil, but one is highly productive and oily. Over 100 pounds of fruit the past 12 months, I guess about 120 pounds. 8 or 9 bunches, heaviest was 24 pounds. Some of the trees set seedless fruits and others drop all their immature fruit if they don’t get pollinated. Pollination is an issue here, we don’t have the beetles that do most of the pollination in the native range. Pollen drops about an hour before sunset and bees sometimes visit the blooms but nothing like the interest they have for royal palms and coconuts. With about 8 blooming trees, and our two bloom periods per year, there isn’t much bloom overlap for pollination, I have had to save pollen and hand pollinate to get good bunches of seeded fruit.
(https://s7.postimg.cc/9icspj8t3/DSCF3533.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/9icspj8t3/)
(https://s11.postimg.cc/gcrbdw21r/DSCF3547.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gcrbdw21r/)
I also have a few wild type, probably B. setulosa with small red fruit, hardly any pulp, not good eating, I’m pretty sure they set seeded fruit without other bactris blooming. They are spineless when small, but get very spiney all over when they grow a trunk.
2014 & 2015 were years of drought in Costa Rica and Haiti. Here are photos I took at CATIE. Their thornless peach palms looked as productive as the thorny ones. I was told that the thornless are usually low-oil. The people there prefer fruits with seeds because seedless is low oil. There was an extremely oily thornless peach palm that wasn’t very good because of fibers in the fruit. Another had fruit almost at ground level.
(https://s15.postimg.cc/ru5vnlwbb/IMG_0140.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ru5vnlwbb/)
(https://s15.postimg.cc/h8m0blpzr/IMG_0141.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/h8m0blpzr/)
Some of my plants are from fruits at a big tourist stop market near Squirres, Costa Rica. At least 3 of the thornless peach palm seedlings from Costa Rica are turning spiney now that they are getting trunks. At least the spines are short but it is a problem when planted where thorns are a danger like by a path in a public area. I wonder if it is a setulosa or other hybrid that may have an advantage at higher elevations.
(https://s2.postimg.cc/g6l7jivwl/IMG_0290.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/g6l7jivwl/)
The young trees have really done best where there is some shade, usually from larger nearby trees but this may be due to the dry weather the first year after they were planted. They tend to get stunted and yellow in full sun, whether in the ground or in the nursery.
Peach palm tend to grow much faster than acai here. I have had close to 100 percent survival in the field despite many being attacked by goats, cows, white grubs and rhino beetles. They just put up a new sucker if any of the base is left intact. If a beetle eats the heart it usually results in two or more plants coming up, which can be divided for propagation. A person experienced digging banana pups with a digging bar can have good results removing good size offshoots for propagation.
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That's a beautiful palm tree! WOW
What's it taste like? and how low of temps can they withstand?
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Do you grow Euterpe edulis (acai), commonly known as juçara?
Thanks
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The high yield, oily peach palm has good flavor, not too strong, but it is dry even after a couple hours of boiling. Good in soups or with mayonnaise.
I do have some acai. First fruit set this year, only half size and green now.
My lowest temperature is about 58'F/14'C. So I don't have cold, but have seen them in the Miami area of Florida, don't think they take much more cold than that but as tough as peach palm is it seems like it would re-grow after a hard frost.
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Cory, thank you so much for what you've done in the propagation of the 'Spineless-Peach-Palm,' and for the valuable information that you've given; that we're hungry for;)
Congratulations on your success in developing a 'Spineless-Peach-Palm' that is oily and very productive, you have a knack for this, and it seems you have a real winner there. Please let me know if you ever wish to propagate this variety in South Florida, especially if with your guidanc, all the proceeds would go (through churches) to help the poor.
Regardless, please propagate this variety that you've developed, it seems to be a very valuable variety; thanks again.
As far as the development of my 'Spineless-Peach-Palm' pup, it's doing just great! In the back of my mind I was worrying that it would die. I potted it and watered it. At first it had what looked like a single strand of a single, thick, green 'hair.' Then it opened into a green leaf. Then, that green leaf divided into two leafs, and I'm silly in that I'm ecstatic about it.
Cory, thank you for confirming my observations, that the 'Spinesless-Peach-Palm' grows quite quickly, and it's a sturdy palm. It should produce a lot of food by means of harvesting the palm-of -hearts of the pups that grow around the trunk, when they get to be about 14 feet tall.
I'm planning to put to good use the fact that the 'Spineless-Peach-Palm' produces few fruits (there's less chance to slip on a fruit while walking and falling) by planting it along the walkways that leads to house entrances, and just harvesting the heart-of-palms.
I'm also now looking for a 'Spiny-Peach-Palm,' to harvest both the abundant fruit production, and the heart-of-palms. I'm planning to plant it in a corner of the backyard, where its spines will provide a bit of security, and it'll be less prone to prick some unsuspecting individual.
I've heard that a 'Peach-Palm' fruit has more Vitamin C than an orange! So, spines or no spines, I'm planning to get all the food and aesthetic benefits that this awesome Edible Palm variety has to offer.
About spineless peach palm, its productivity and oil content:
I’ve grown peach palms here in Haiti since 2009. I bought “spineless” seeds that year from RarePalmSeeds.com and most grew spineless. Several more orders from RarePalmSeeds and other sources usually didn’t germinate. The original trees were growing so well and I couldn’t find a reliable source of seed so in 2014 I went to Costa Rica to get a good genetic diversity of seed. I have about 520 planted out on about 3 acres. The goal is to get a good source of seeds and seedlings to distribute in Haiti for development, food security, and helping our mission churches.
Last year many of the original trees started fruiting. Most of the thornless fruits are similar and low oil, but one is highly productive and oily. Over 100 pounds of fruit the past 12 months, I guess about 120 pounds. 8 or 9 bunches, heaviest was 24 pounds. Some of the trees set seedless fruits and others drop all their immature fruit if they don’t get pollinated. Pollination is an issue here, we don’t have the beetles that do most of the pollination in the native range. Pollen drops about an hour before sunset and bees sometimes visit the blooms but nothing like the interest they have for royal palms and coconuts. With about 8 blooming trees, and our two bloom periods per year, there isn’t much bloom overlap for pollination, I have had to save pollen and hand pollinate to get good bunches of seeded fruit.
(https://s7.postimg.cc/9icspj8t3/DSCF3533.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/9icspj8t3/)
(https://s11.postimg.cc/gcrbdw21r/DSCF3547.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gcrbdw21r/)
I also have a few wild type, probably B. setulosa with small red fruit, hardly any pulp, not good eating, I’m pretty sure they set seeded fruit without other bactris blooming. They are spineless when small, but get very spiney all over when they grow a trunk.
2014 & 2015 were years of drought in Costa Rica and Haiti. Here are photos I took at CATIE. Their thornless peach palms looked as productive as the thorny ones. I was told that the thornless are usually low-oil. The people there prefer fruits with seeds because seedless is low oil. There was an extremely oily thornless peach palm that wasn’t very good because of fibers in the fruit. Another had fruit almost at ground level.
(https://s15.postimg.cc/ru5vnlwbb/IMG_0140.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ru5vnlwbb/)
(https://s15.postimg.cc/h8m0blpzr/IMG_0141.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/h8m0blpzr/)
Some of my plants are from fruits at a big tourist stop market near Squirres, Costa Rica. At least 3 of the thornless peach palm seedlings from Costa Rica are turning spiney now that they are getting trunks. At least the spines are short but it is a problem when planted where thorns are a danger like by a path in a public area. I wonder if it is a setulosa or other hybrid that may have an advantage at higher elevations.
(https://s2.postimg.cc/g6l7jivwl/IMG_0290.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/g6l7jivwl/)
The young trees have really done best where there is some shade, usually from larger nearby trees but this may be due to the dry weather the first year after they were planted. They tend to get stunted and yellow in full sun, whether in the ground or in the nursery.
Peach palm tend to grow much faster than acai here. I have had close to 100 percent survival in the field despite many being attacked by goats, cows, white grubs and rhino beetles. They just put up a new sucker if any of the base is left intact. If a beetle eats the heart it usually results in two or more plants coming up, which can be divided for propagation. A person experienced digging banana pups with a digging bar can have good results removing good size offshoots for propagation.
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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).
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From what I have read and what I have tried, favor is as good in spineless as it is in spiney trees. I suspect that spineless require cross pollination more than the spiney types do. I do have a spineless that sets bunches of seedless fruit when not pollinated but most drop all the fruit if not pollinated. I was told in Costa Rica that they prefer seeded fruit. I like the seedless, less dry fruit but it is also less oily unless allowed to fully ripen. Seeded fruit ripen faster and fruit with larger seeds tends to ripen before fruit with small seeds in the same bunch.
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About spineless peach palm, its productivity and oil content:
I’ve grown peach palms here in Haiti since 2009. I bought “spineless” seeds that year from RarePalmSeeds.com and most grew spineless. Several more orders from RarePalmSeeds and other sources usually didn’t germinate. The original trees were growing so well and I couldn’t find a reliable source of seed so in 2014 I went to Costa Rica to get a good genetic diversity of seed. I have about 520 planted out on about 3 acres. The goal is to get a good source of seeds and seedlings to distribute in Haiti for development, food security, and helping our mission churches.
Last year many of the original trees started fruiting. Most of the thornless fruits are similar and low oil, but one is highly productive and oily. Over 100 pounds of fruit the past 12 months, I guess about 120 pounds. 8 or 9 bunches, heaviest was 24 pounds. Some of the trees set seedless fruits and others drop all their immature fruit if they don’t get pollinated. Pollination is an issue here, we don’t have the beetles that do most of the pollination in the native range. Pollen drops about an hour before sunset and bees sometimes visit the blooms but nothing like the interest they have for royal palms and coconuts. With about 8 blooming trees, and our two bloom periods per year, there isn’t much bloom overlap for pollination, I have had to save pollen and hand pollinate to get good bunches of seeded fruit.
(https://s7.postimg.cc/9icspj8t3/DSCF3533.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/9icspj8t3/)
(https://s11.postimg.cc/gcrbdw21r/DSCF3547.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gcrbdw21r/)
I also have a few wild type, probably B. setulosa with small red fruit, hardly any pulp, not good eating, I’m pretty sure they set seeded fruit without other bactris blooming. They are spineless when small, but get very spiney all over when they grow a trunk.
2014 & 2015 were years of drought in Costa Rica and Haiti. Here are photos I took at CATIE. Their thornless peach palms looked as productive as the thorny ones. I was told that the thornless are usually low-oil. The people there prefer fruits with seeds because seedless is low oil. There was an extremely oily thornless peach palm that wasn’t very good because of fibers in the fruit. Another had fruit almost at ground level.
(https://s15.postimg.cc/ru5vnlwbb/IMG_0140.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ru5vnlwbb/)
(https://s15.postimg.cc/h8m0blpzr/IMG_0141.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/h8m0blpzr/)
Some of my plants are from fruits at a big tourist stop market near Squirres, Costa Rica. At least 3 of the thornless peach palm seedlings from Costa Rica are turning spiney now that they are getting trunks. At least the spines are short but it is a problem when planted where thorns are a danger like by a path in a public area. I wonder if it is a setulosa or other hybrid that may have an advantage at higher elevations.
(https://s2.postimg.cc/g6l7jivwl/IMG_0290.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/g6l7jivwl/)
The young trees have really done best where there is some shade, usually from larger nearby trees but this may be due to the dry weather the first year after they were planted. They tend to get stunted and yellow in full sun, whether in the ground or in the nursery.
Peach palm tend to grow much faster than acai here. I have had close to 100 percent survival in the field despite many being attacked by goats, cows, white grubs and rhino beetles. They just put up a new sucker if any of the base is left intact. If a beetle eats the heart it usually results in two or more plants coming up, which can be divided for propagation. A person experienced digging banana pups with a digging bar can have good results removing good size offshoots for propagation.
I have 6 peach palms that are going to be planted out in the field. What spacing would you recommend?
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Cory, this quality seedless variety, which sounds like it's your favorite, and rightfully so, seems like the perfect candidate for propagation by suckers.
"... I do have a spineless that sets bunches of seedless fruit when not pollinated but most drop all the fruit if not pollinated..."
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Don't forget to add Acai Berry to your list of edible palms.
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Although I love the taste of store bought Acai Berry (organic) organic fruit juice, I have no knowledge of how Acai Berry Palms do in the subtropical South Florida climate. I just know that they thrive in the Amazon area of South America.
Basically, all I have is questions for the Acai Berry Palm: Do they grow & fruit in S. FL? Are the fruit berries edible raw? Are the raw fruit berries tasty? Is Acai Berry Juice the only way to consume this fruit?
Don't forget to add Acai Berry to your list of edible palms.
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Update on the 'Spineless-Peach-Palm' sucker that I have growing in a pot:
The main, bigger sucker has dried up and died. Incredibly, it came with its own much smaller sucker, which is doing just fine so far. I've moved it to a location with more shade.
I hope it survives so that I don't have to go through the process of obtaining another sucker from the donating/mother Peach-Palm tree of an acquaintance of mine. It can be somewhat heart wrenching to see what these young pups go through.
Update on the taste of the 'Peach-Palm:' I've never tasted the fruit, but from what I've been able to gather, it is very nutritious, but it does not have a sweet taste.
I recall two ways that the fruit can be eaten after it's boiled for about 5 hours: (1) By itself with some honey, and (2) in a soup recipe. 8)
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I think people need to know the taste of Butia eriosphata. I still do not know Butia capitata so I do not know if it is better, but I can say that Butia eriosphata is completely fantastic, very juicy, sweet, slightly acidic. I need to take pictures of open fruit.
Native from south Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul state (common name: Butiá-da-serra)
(https://s20.postimg.cc/gku7ph9cp/DSC04578.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gku7ph9cp/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/t9oi95fh5/DSC04585.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/t9oi95fh5/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/nkcv2kyop/DSC04569.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/nkcv2kyop/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/sqo0dmdg9/DSC04574.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/sqo0dmdg9/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/d3s5miaah/DSC04571.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/d3s5miaah/)
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Cory
How do you extract the oil of your palms. Do you extract by boiling or by pressing ? Have you come across any small size and economical press other than the PITEBA ?
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Generally, the Peach Palm fruit isn't pressed for oil, just boiled and eaten. Taste to me is nutty but not sweet, texture drier than a winter storage pumpkin near to the dryness of potato.
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I'm always surprised when people talk about boiling penibaye for hours. 20-30 minutes has always worked well for us. Cut up cooked pejibaye is great in a stir fry. Use is cold in salada. Grind it up or smash it to make fritters.
Peter
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Good News & Bad News
Bad News (first): ‘Spineless Peach 🍑 Palm’ sucker died last year. I suppose I was ‘kinda’ mourning its passing and can talk about it OK now. As I remember, it survived less than 2 months in a pot. So, ‘back to the old drawing board’ as they say. Next time, - God Willing - I plan to use Root-Hormone and better Potting-Soil.
Good-News!: The ‘Gingerbread Palm’ (Hyphaene ventricosa) produces a ‘fruit’ with “a thick layer of fibrous material which is favoured by monkeys and elephants but can be eaten by humans as well.” This Palm is already in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The information I have is that it’s thriving and fruiting! I looked on the Web for Nurseries in Miami-Dade County, Fl, that have it for sale, but haven’t found it yet, perhaps I’ll need to expand the search area. The other option, of course, is to obtain its ‘fruit’ and plant it.
P.S. It goes without saying (but it deserves to be said anyway), this new development is, within the context of this Thread: Very Exciting!
http://innvista.com/health/foods/seeds/nut-producing-palms/ (http://innvista.com/health/foods/seeds/nut-producing-palms/) : “Gingerbread palm, doum nut (Hyphaene ventricosa) is found mainly in Arabia, tropical Africa and Madagascar. The trunk is frequently branched, which is rare in palm trees. The fruit is the shape and size of an orange with a thin, shiny brown, outer layer. Beneath this is a thicker layer of fibrous matter which is favoured by monkeys and elephants but can be eaten by humans as well. The third layer is very hard and fibrous which encases an inedible kernel known as “Vegetable Ivory”, which was extensively used in the manufacture of buttons until the advent of plastics.”
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It does grow here in Florida here is a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eIqL8ixahQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eIqL8ixahQ)
Edibility discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtq73CxBWQE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtq73CxBWQE)
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Although I love the taste of store bought Acai Berry (organic) organic fruit juice, I have no knowledge of how Acai Berry Palms do in the subtropical South Florida climate. I just know that they thrive in the Amazon area of South America.
Basically, all I have is questions for the Acai Berry Palm: Do they grow & fruit in S. FL? Are the fruit berries edible raw? Are the raw fruit berries tasty? Is Acai Berry Juice the only way to consume this fruit?
Don't forget to add Acai Berry to your list of edible palms.
I have a few acai and jucara palms grown from seed in the south Miami area. The acai look nice and healthy even though they could use some additional soil and maybe being repotted. The jucaras are smaller/younger and have stressed some with the heat and limited water lately. They seem to tolerate the climate well here, although I did bring them in once or twice last year when it got cold. No fruit yet, too small.
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It does grow here in Florida here is a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eIqL8ixahQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eIqL8ixahQ)
Edibility discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtq73CxBWQE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtq73CxBWQE)
Thank You for the informative video. I would really like now to be able to soon get a hold of a Gingerbread Palm; preferably the tree, but I‘d settle for fruit-seed to plant. I think that edible fruit palms are just more fun to have than the ones that are not edible.
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I think people need to know the taste of Butia eriosphata. I still do not know Butia capitata so I do not know if it is better, but I can say that Butia eriosphata is completely fantastic, very juicy, sweet, slightly acidic. I need to take pictures of open fruit.
Native from south Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul state (common name: Butiá-da-serra)
(https://s20.postimg.cc/gku7ph9cp/DSC04578.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gku7ph9cp/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/t9oi95fh5/DSC04585.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/t9oi95fh5/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/nkcv2kyop/DSC04569.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/nkcv2kyop/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/sqo0dmdg9/DSC04574.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/sqo0dmdg9/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/d3s5miaah/DSC04571.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/d3s5miaah/)
Thank You for the Important Heads-Up on the ‘Butia eriosphata‘ Peach Palm. You mention that it’s Sweet, Juicy... Wow! 8)
It is wonderful to know that there are Quality Cultivars of Peach Palm like this one.
Your information just sets things up to do a follow up Research to determine if it’s in my South Florida area, or another are in the USA (like California). And, if it’s not, then other venues must definitely be explored in order to bring it into the USA.
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Great News! With regards to ‘Butias eriosphata’ Peach Palm: It’s in the USA!
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=19453.0 (http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=19453.0)
To my recollection, this may be the Best Quality and Best Tasting Peach Palm Cultivar up to date!
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I think people need to know the taste of Butia eriosphata. I still do not know Butia capitata so I do not know if it is better, but I can say that Butia eriosphata is completely fantastic, very juicy, sweet, slightly acidic. I need to take pictures of open fruit.
Native from south Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul state (common name: Butiá-da-serra)
(https://s20.postimg.cc/gku7ph9cp/DSC04578.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gku7ph9cp/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/t9oi95fh5/DSC04585.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/t9oi95fh5/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/nkcv2kyop/DSC04569.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/nkcv2kyop/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/sqo0dmdg9/DSC04574.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/sqo0dmdg9/) (https://s20.postimg.cc/d3s5miaah/DSC04571.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/d3s5miaah/)
I was recently given some palm fruits with a red blush that looked exactly like those in the picture. Most Butia capitata fruits I have seen did not have a red blush. I wonder if they were actually B. Eriosphata. They were ok raw, but cooking really improved the flavor. They made absolutely fantastic jelley (once the fibers were strained out).