Aiphanes macroloba
Burret
Palmito
What to Eat
Edible parts: Cabbage, Palm heart
Leaves - cooked. The apical bud, often known as a 'palm heart', is eaten as a vegetable. Eating this bud leads to the death of the tree because it is unable to make side shoots.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows in the Andes between 600-1400 m altitude. Sometimes it is as low as 100 m altitude. It grows in shady and humid parts of the forest.
Ecuador, South America,
How to Identify
A palm with 1-3 stems in a cluster. They are 2 m tall. The trunks are 2-3 cm across. They are covered with black spines 3 cm long. There are often suckers high on the stem. There are 5-8 leaves. They are simple with one large leaflet at the end. This can be 82 cm long. The edges are jagged. There are 2-3 leaflets near the base. The flowering stalks are among the leaves. They stick upwards. The fruit are 1 cm long by 7 mm wide. They are red or orange.
How to Grow
Requires a moist, shady position.
Notes
There are about 38 Aiphanes species. They grow in tropical America.
Names & Synonyms
Pikanar
References (2)
- Henderson, A., Galeano, G and Bernal, R., 1995, Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton. p 173
- Torre, de la L., et al, 2008, Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador. Herbario QCA. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. p 193
