Piassaba, Tagua
Aphandra natalia

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A solitary palm. It grows 3-11 m tall. The trunks are 20-22 cm across. There are 10-20 leaves. They can be 8 m long. The leaf stalk is 3-3.5 m long. It is scaly. There are 90-120 leaflets on each side. The leaflets are arranged regularly and are in the same plane. The male flowering stalk is 2 m long. The flowers are in stalked clusters of 4. There are 5 fruiting heads per palm. They are 30-45 cm across. There are 30-45 fruits per head. There are 6 seeds per fruit.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in lowland or low mountain rainforest. It grows on non flooded soils. It grows from sea level to 800 m altitude. In the Andes it grows between 200-1,500 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Andes, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, South America

How it is used for food

The immature fruit is used as a drink. The fruit is eaten.

Edible parts

Fruit, seeds, palm heart, cabbage, oil

How it is grown

See references in Henderson, A., Galeano, G and Bernal, R., 1995, Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton. p 237

Its other names

Local names

Chilimoyo, Wamowe

Synonyms

Ammandra natalia Balslev & Henderson;