Euterpe oleracea Mart.

Assai palm (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Arecales > Arecaceae > Euterpe

Characteristics

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.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 25.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

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.
More
Swampy ground, often in sandy soils. Most commonly found along river edges and seasonally flooded habitats in Brazil.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-12

Usage

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.
Uses environmental use fodder food material medicinal oil ornamental timber wood
Edible fruits leaves seeds shoots stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

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.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) 22 - 28
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Euterpe oleracea habit picture by Rocha enock (cc-by-sa)
Euterpe oleracea habit picture by Rocha enock (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Euterpe oleracea leaf picture by Antoine Chourrot (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Euterpe oleracea fruit picture by Luan Borborema (cc-by-sa)
Euterpe oleracea fruit picture by Luan Borborema (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Euterpe oleracea world distribution map, present in Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:666941-1
WFO ID wfo-0000965687
COL ID 3DCLF
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 731659
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Catis martiana Euterpe beardii Euterpe brasiliana Euterpe cuatrecasana Euterpe badiocarpa Euterpe oleracea