Chonta
Juania australis

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A palm. It grows 19 m high. The trunk is 25 cm across. It is light to dark grey. There are closely spaced rings of leaf base scars. They are light coloured. There is no crown-shaft. The leaf crown is half round. The leaves are 2-2.6 m long and spreading but slightly arching at the ends. The leaflets are green and 60 cm long. They are stiff and narrowly sword shaped. They are divided at their tips. The flowering stalk grows from the leaf sheaths. The bracts are long and woody. The fruit are orange-red. They are 1.5-1.8 cm across.

There is only one Juania species.

Where it is found

It grows in moist cool forests on steep ridges between 200 and 835 m altitude in Juan Fernandez Island in the Pacific off Chile. It does not tolerate cold temperatures, nor hot temperatures.

Countries/locations it is found in

Chile, Juan Fernandez, South America

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Palm heart, fruit, cabbage

How it is grown

It is difficult to grow.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Ceroxylon australe Mart.; Morenia chonta Philippi; Nunnezharia chonta (Philippi)Kuntze; ? Cocos australis