Polyandrococos caudescens

(Mart.) Barb. Rodr.

Buri palm

ArecaceaeFruitSeeds/NutsShoots

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds, Cabbage, Palm heart

The succulent fruit are edible. The palm heart is bitter and requires treatment before eating. The seeds and cabbage are also edible portions.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It often grows near the sea in dry sandy soils. It usually grows below 350 m altitude in Brazil. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. Queen Sirikit BG. In Townsville palmetum.

Australia, Asia, Brazil, SE Asia, South America, Thailand,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bhutan, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Georgia, French Guiana, Guyana, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Suriname, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A small palm. It has a solitary trunk. It grows to 5-8 m high. The trunk is 15-20 cm across. The trunk has rough rings. The crown is dense. The leaves are held upright. They are 3-4 m long. The leaves are feather like. They are silvery underneath. The new leaves are striped. There is no crown-shaft. The leaf stalks are 60 cm long. They are stout and ribbed below. They have a broad base. The leaflets are long, narrow, stiff and pointed. They taper to a sharp point. The fruit hang on a long stalk in tightly packed clusters. The fruit are about 4 cm long. They are deep orange to brown when ripe. The flesh is orange.

How to Grow

It is grown from seed. The seed germinate erratically. They may take a few weeks to a few months to germinate. The seed are only viable for a short time.

Production

Young plants grow steadily.

Other Information

They are only eaten occasionally.

Notes

There is one Polyandrococcus species.

Names & Synonyms

Palmito-amargoso, Palha-branca

Allagoptera caudescens (Mart.) KuntzeCocos caudescensDiplothemium caudescens Mart.Diplothemium pectinatum Barb. Rodr.Polyandrocos pectinata (Barb. Rodr.) Barb. Rodr.

References (11)

Balick, M.J. and Beck, H.T., (Ed.), 1990, Useful palms of the World. A Synoptic Bibliography. Colombia p 130, 131, (As Allagoptera caudescens)
Contr. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 1:8. 1901
Gibbons, M., 2003, A pocket guide to Palms. Chartwell Books. p 170
Haynes, J., & McLaughlin, J., 2000, Edible palms and Their Uses. University of Florida Fact sheet MCDE-00-50-1 p 11
Henderson, A., Galeano, G and Bernal, R., 1995, Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton. p 153
Johnson, D.V., 1998, Tropical palms. Non-wood Forest products 10. FAO Rome. p 94
Jones, D.L., 1994, Palms throughout the World. Smithtonian Institution, Washington. p 55
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 674
Lorenzi, H., 2002, Brazilian Trees. A Guide to the Identification and Cultivation of Brazilian Native Trees. Vol. 01 Nova Odessa, SP, Instituto Plantarum p 301
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 210 (As Allagoptera caudescens)
Riffle, R.L. & Craft, P., 2003, An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Timber Press. p 418