Coyure palm, Corozo, Macaw palm
Aiphanes minima

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A single stemmed spiny palm. The trunk can be 8 m tall. It can be 13 cm across. The trunk has spines which point upwards. The leaves are feather-like. The leaves are 2 m long. There are about 40 leaflets. These are 50 cm long by 5 cm wide. The long narrow segments are irregular at the ends. There are black spines on both surfaces of the leaflets. They are bright green and glossy above and paler underneath. The outer edges are irregular. It has separate male and female flowers on the same plant. The flowers are cream and have a fragrance. The flowering stalk is a simple spike which hangs down. It is about 1 m long. There can be 1,700 fruit on a stalk. The fruit are round and red. They are about 1.5 cm across. The kernel is similar to a coconut and is thick, white and edible.

There are about 38 Aiphanes species. They grow in tropical America.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. They need organically rich soils. It grows in dense rainforests. It can grow in deep shade. It grows between 800-1700 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 10-11.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Barbados, Caribbean, Central America, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Lesser Antilles, Martinique, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, St Lucia, Tropical America, West Indies (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw. They have little taste. The seeds are oily and edible. Sometimes the seeds are boiled to soften them.

The fruit are especially eaten by children.

Edible parts

Fruit, seeds

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Seed germinate readily. Plants need protection from the sun when young.

Its other names

Local names

Coyor, Grigri, Gwigwi, Palem makau

Synonyms

Aiphanes acanthophylla (Mart.) Burret; Aiphanes corallina (Mart.) H. Wendl.; Aiphanes erosa (Linden) Burret; Aiphanes luciana L.H.Bailey; Aiphanes vincentiana L.H.Bailey; Bactris acanthophylla Mart.; Bactris erosa Mart.; Bactris minima Gaertn.; Curima colophylla O.F.Cook; Curima corallina (Mart.) O.F.Cook; Martinezia acanthiphylla (Mart,) Burret; Martinezia corallina Mart.; Martinezia erosa (Mart.) Linden;