Tucan nuts, Black palm
Astrocaryum standleyanum

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A spiny palm. It grows 6-15 m high. The trunk is 16-22 cm across. It has a solitary trunk and a crown of dark green leaves. The leaves are feather like but spiny. There are 11-18 leaves which spread horizontally and curve. They are 4 m long. The trunk is stout and covered with short, flat, black spines. The fruit are orange-red. They occur in large clusters which hang down on stalks. The hard seeds have star shaped marks on one end.

There are about 40-50 Astrocaryum species. The nuts are fed to farm animals.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in lowland rainforest on poorly drained soils and usually below 200 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, South America

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten. The palm hearts are eaten. The seedlings are eaten.

Edible parts

Nuts, seeds, fruit, palm hearts, cabbage

How it is grown

Seeds are difficult to germinate.

Young plants grow at a steady rate.

Its other names

Local names

Awara nuts, Chunga, Gueggegue, Gerregue, Joro, Mocora, Panama nuts, Pejiyabe, Pukaijchi, Winul

Synonyms

Astrocaryum standleyanum var. calimense Dugand;