Acai palm, Assai palm
Euterpe oleracea

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A solitary palm. It has a tall slender trunk. The trunk can be 25 m tall and 18 cm across. It can form clusters of up to 12 palms. The suckers develop at a late stage and can be suppressed while the main stalk develops. There are 8-12 leaves in each crown. The leaves are finely divided. The leaflets are about 1 m long. The leaflets droop. There are several flowering stalks. These are produced below the crown-shaft. The fruit are purplish-black. They are 1.5 cm across.

There are between 7 and 18 Euterpe species. It possibly had benefits for obese people.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows best in deep, rich soils. It can tolerate poor drainage. It often grows in swamps. It can grow in subtropical and tropical regions. It grows in areas with an annual average temperature of 26°C. The rainfall is 2750 mm per year. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. In XTBG Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Asia, Australia, Brazil (country/location of origin), Central America, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Hawaii, Indonesia, Pacific, Panama, Peru, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

How it is used for food

The stems are cut to obtain the palm heart which is eaten. The fruit are used to make drinks. They are also used to make wine. The fruit yield an edible oil.

It is an important food in some areas in South America. The palm hearts are canned and the fruit used for acai wine.

Edible parts

Cabbage, fruit, oil, palm heart

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The fruit are harvested when ripe and the fruit can be planted as a seed. Seed are only viable for a short time. Fresh fruit (seed) are planted and germinate in 30-60 days.

It can be quite fast growing. The pulp is 17% of the fruit and the seed is 83%.

Its other names

Local names

Acai-do-para, Anare, Asai, Ceara, Huasai, Jucara, Manaka, Manicole, Naidi, Palem euterpe, Palmiche, Palmiteiro, Palmito acai, Para palm, Paraipaba, Pina palm, Pina, Pinot, Podo siri, Prasara, Ucai, Wasei

Synonyms

Catis martiana O.F.Cook; Euterpe badiocarpa Barb. Rodr.; Euterpe beardii L.H.Bailey; Euterpe brasiliana Oken; Euterpe cuatrecasana Dugand;