Jubaea chilensis Baill.

A slow growing palm to 16-25 m tall. The trunk is 1.3-2 m across. The trunk has dark grey diamond shaped leaf scars. The feathery fronds are 2-4 m long. The leaflets are 0.6 m long and 2-3 cm wide. They split at the ends. The leaves are dull green. The flowers are small and purple. They occur in 1.3 m long stalks which have one branch. The flowers occur as one female and two male flowers in groups. The flowers are pollinated by wind and insects. The fruit is 5 cm long and oval. They are egg yellow. They hang in bunches. The flesh is edible. The fruit contains one seed. The kernel is edible.

It suits Mediterranean type climates. They cannot tolerate hot humid tropical conditions. They can grow in temperate conditions. They are hardy to about-6°C. They do best in a sunny position. They can tolerate wind but not salt. They can be grown under most soil conditions. They are drought tolerant once established. In Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It grows to 36°C South in Argentina and Chile. It suits hardiness zones 8-10. Arboretum Tasmania. Hobart Botanical Gardens.

The fruit stalk can be tapped for sap. This is distilled to make palm honey. It is also used for wine. The fruit are candied. The nut is eaten. They are also used for oil.

Palms can be grown from seed. They need to be sown fresh. The seed are large and need to be sown fairly deeply. The seed germinates erratically. It can take 6 months or a year for seed to germinate.