Buriti Palm, Aguaje Palm
Mauritia flexuosa

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

Mauritia flexuosa or commonly known as Buriti Palm or Moriche Palm is a slow-growing, dioecious palm tree that grows on wet areas, like swamps, in South America. It reaches a height of about 35 m and a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm. The crown is rounded and composed of large green leaves. The flowers are yellow. The bark is gray-brown to black. The fruits are chestnut color and covered with shiny scales. It yields edible oil. It can be consumed raw, dried and ground into flour, processed into desserts, or made into a beverage. The pith of the trunk is a source of edible starch used as a sago. The apical bud or called as palm heart is consumed as a vegetable. Young inflorescence is tapped to yield a sap which can be boiled down to make a sugar or fermented into palm wine. Medicinally, the seed oil is used for burns and the fruits are eaten as relief for bowel problems. The leaves are used as an to soften skin. It is also used as thatch. It yields fiber which is used to make ropes, hammocks, belts, hats, baskets, fishing nets, etc. The wood is used as posts and as construction material.

Mauritia flexuosa is an evergreen Tree growing to 25 m (82ft) by 10 m (32ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 25

Where it is found

Riverine swamps. Found in poorly drained or periodically flooded soils. Usually in permanently swampy areas, often forming extensive, high-density stands; also in gallery forests; usually at elevations below 500 metres, occ. to 900 metres.

Northern S. America - Brazil, Bolivia and Peru northwards to the Guyanas and Caribbean.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Trinidad and Tobago; French Guiana; Guyana; Suriname; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Bolivia, Plurinational State of; Colombia; Ecuador; Peru; Brazil, Amazon, Australia, Bolivia, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, South America, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

An edible oil is obtained from the fruit. The fleshy fruit is eaten raw. Rich in vitamins and oil. The fruit is also dried and ground into a flour. The fruit is 4 - 6cm long. A juice made from the pulp of the fruit is eaten with sugar and cassava meal. The pulp is also widely used in the production of juice, jam, liqueurs and other exotic drinks with a high vitamin C content. A favourite native beverage is produced from the fruits. They are soaked in water till they begin to ferment, and the scales and pulpy matter soften and can be easily rubbed off in water. When strained through a sieve it is ready for use, and has a slight acid taste and a peculiar flavour of the fruit at first rather disagreeable to European palates. The fruit is made into a cheese-like paste that is sometimes eaten for remedying bowel problems, or to allay hunger when desperate. An edible starch is obtained from the pith of the trunk. Used as a sago. 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 sideshoots. A sap obtained by tapping the young, unopened inflorescence can be drunk, boiled down to make a sugar or fermented to make palm wine. A sweet alcoholic drink called 'item' is prepared from the sap. The terminal bud is eaten as vegetable. Eating this bud will effectively kill the tree since it is unable to produce side branches.

Apical bud: Typically, the end of a shoot contains an apical bud, which is the location where shoot growth occurs.

Oil: Oil

Sap: usually of trees and usually but not always used as a drink.

Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The oil from the seed is high in vitamin A and is frequently used to treat burns, because of its soothing qualities and its ability to promote the formation of scar tissue. A pap prepared from the pith is used to treat dysentery and diarrhoea. The fruit is made into a cheese-like paste that is sometimes eaten for remedying bowel problems, or to allay hunger when desperate. The leaves are used in baths as an emollient. The sap from young stems is considered tonic.

Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Emollient: Softens the skin, causing warmth and moisture.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Vitamin C: Plants good for their vitamin C content

Other

Rating: 3

Other Uses The leaves are used for covering roofs. A full-grown fallen leaf of this tree is a grand sight. The expanded sheathing base is 30cm in diameter; the petiole is a solid beam 3 - 3.6 metres, and the leaf itself is up to 3 metres in diameter. An entire leaf is a load for one person. A fibre is obtained from the leaves. Used to make fishing nets, ropes, hammocks, belts, hats, mats, and baskets. The leaf sheathes are used to make sandals. A spongy material, obtained from the petioles of the palm, is made into bottle-stoppers, mats and sandals or is used for paper production. The hard seeds are made into buttons and other small objects. The wood is moderately hard and heavy, but of low durability when exposed. The trunks are used as posts and floating bridges, and in the construction of rural buildings. The peripheral parts of the stems serve, like the dried petioles, for the construction of rafts.

Basketry: Plant used in making baskets and other items such as chairs. Includes plants that are only used as an ornamental addition.

Buttons: Plants that can be used as buttons. Not including making buttons from wood.

Fencing: Plants that can be used for fencing.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.

Roofing: Used to give a waterproof roof to buildings. See also Thatching.

String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Oil: (0-15 percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Some of these are consumed whole while others are exclusively pressed for oil. Annuals include canola, poppyseed, maize, cottonseed, sunflower, peanut. Perennials include high-oil fruits, seeds, and nuts, such as olive, coconut, avocado, oil palm, shea, pecan, and macadamia. Some perennial oil crops are consumed whole as fruits and nuts, while others are exclusively pressed for oil (and some are used fresh and for oil).

Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

A plant of hot, wet, tropical lowlands, it can also succeed in the warm sub-tropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c, but can tolerate 18 0 34°c. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about 10°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 4,500mm, but tolerates 1,100 - 6,300mm. In areas with less than 2,000 mm of annual rainfall, or with a dry season, water must be available throughout the year. Requires a position in full sun, with lots of water. Tolerates a range of fertile, acid soils. Succeeds in poorly drained soils and acid soils. Prefers a pH in the range 4 - 5, tolerating 3.5 - 5.5. A very vigorous grower whose roots will normally out compete any nearby plant. A slow-growing tree?. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required. Spacing: 8-10 ft. (2.4-3 m) 10-12 ft. (3-3.6 m) 12-15 ft. (3.6-4.7 m).

Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers. A moderate germination rate can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 90 - 150 days. The seedlings develop slowly.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 11-12

Growth: Slow

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Buriti Palm, Aguaje Palm, Moriche Palm, Burití, Moriche, Caranday-guazu, Murity palm, Aguaje, Palma real, Boriti, Guaish, Carandai-guazu, Mirisi, Achu, Miriti, Canangucho, Morete, Ite palm, Mauriti palm, Coqueiro-buriti, Muriti, Ita Palm, aguaje, buriti, burití, ita palm, itapalm, ite palm, moriche, morichepalme, muriti, murití, tree-of-life, yurumabrot.

Synonyms

Mauritia minor Burret Mauritia setigera Griseb. & H. Wendl. Mauritia vinifera Mart.

Buriti Palm, Aguaje Palm Mauritia flexuosa