Attalea maripa
(Aubl.) Mart.
Maripa palm
(c) Vincent A. Vos, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Vincent A. Vos
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Kernel, Drink, Palm heart, Cabbage, Oil, Nuts
Edible Parts: Fruit Oil Seed Edible Uses: Condiment Drink Milk Oil Edible portion: Fruit, Kernel, Drink, Palm heart, Cabbage, Oil, Nut. Fruit - raw. A succulent, aromatic, almost fibreless pulp with a sweet, pleasant flavour. It is used to make a drink. The fruit is up to 5cm long. The mesocarp provides a 'milk' for drinking. Seed - the endosperm is toasted. An oil extracted from the seed is used for cooking. The outer husk of the fruit makes a kind of salty flour used to flavour food. The apical bud is eaten as a vegetable. Eating this bud will effectively kill the tree since it is unable to produce side shoots.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in lowland and secondary forest. It grows on non flooded soils. It grows at low elevations.
Amazon, Andes, Bolivia, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Peru, South America, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad, Venezuela,
How to Identify
A solitary palm. The stems are tall. They are 3.5-20 m tall. The trunks are 20-33 cm across. They can be 100 cm across. The fronds are 10 m long. There are 10-22 leaves. They are borne in 5 distinct vertical rows. They are on long leaf stalks. The leaflets are irregularly placed in tight clusters. They spread in different planes. The flowers are on long stalks borne among the leaves. The fruit have 2-3 seeds. They are oblong and 4-6 cm long by 2.5-3 cm wide. They are brownish-yellow. The pulp is sweet and juicy.
How to Grow
Plants are grown from seed.
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a nursery bed or individual containers.
Medicinal Uses
Antirheumatic An oil obtained from the seeds is rubbed onto rheumatic areas of the body in order to bring relief.
Other Uses
Beads Containers Oil Pioneer Thatching Wood Other uses rating: Very High (5/5). Agroforestry Uses: The plant shows pioneer characteristics. It regenerates vigorously after being cut down and the dormant seeds germinate after forest fires or the clearing of forested areas. These traits make it an excellent choice as a pioneer species for restoring native woodland and especially, when taking into account all the plant's uses, for establishing a woodland garden. Other Uses The fruit is a rich source of oil. It is currently being investigated for its suitability for biodiesel production. The leaves are used for thatching. The young leaves are made into mats and pack baskets. They are used as a heavy-duty weaving material. The woody bract is used as a container. The seeds are used to make jewellery. The wood is moderately heavy, hard, resistant, of low durability. The whole trunks are used locally for rustic constructions such as stays, rafters and laths. Special Uses Carbon Farming Food Forest
Wikipedia
Source ↗Attalea maripa, commonly called maripa palm is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It grows up 35 m (115 ft) tall and can have leaves or fronds 10–12 m (33–39 ft) long, bearing up to 636 leaflets. This plant has a yellow edible fruit which is oblong ovoid and cream. An edible oil can be extracted from the pulp of the fruit and from the kernel of the seed.
Other Information
The fruit are enjoyed throughout the Amazon. They are sold in local and national markets.
Notes
There are between (22) 30-71 Attalea species. Some authorities divide them among Attalea, Orbignya, Scheela and Maximiliana.
Names & Synonyms
Abak, Anaja, Bojo, Cucurite Palm, Cucurito, Curete, Cusi, Doi arau, Edi ni, Guichire, Huacava, Inaja, Inayuga, Incham, Koheri Palm, Kokerite, Kokoriti, Kukarit, Maripa, Maripya, Motacusillo, Shapaja, Shapajilla, Taparo, Xebi choqui
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