Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees, most notably the coconut, juçara, açaí palm, palmetto, and peach palm. Harvesting of many uncultivated or wild single-stemmed palms results in palm tree death. However, other palm species are clonal or multi-stemmed plants, and moderate harvesting will not kill the entire clonal palm. Heart of palm may be eaten on its own, and often it is eaten in a salad.
The açaí palm, Euterpe oleracea, is a species of palm tree (Arecaceae) cultivated for its fruit, hearts of palm, leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in the 21st century, and the tree is cultivated for that purpose primarily.
Attalea maripa, commonly called maripa palm is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It grows up 35 m (115 ft) tall and can have leaves or fronds 10–12 m (33–39 ft) long. This plant has a yellow edible fruit which is oblong ovoid and cream. An edible oil can be extracted from the pulp of the fruit and from the kernel of the seed.
Bactris is a genus of spiny palms which are native to Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Most species are small trees about 2 m tall, but some are large trees while others are shrubs with subterranean stems. They have simple or pinnately compound leaves and yellow, orange, red or purple-black fruit. The genus is most closely related to several other spiny palms—Acrocomia, Aiphanes, Astrocaryum and Desmoncus. The fruit of several species is edible, most notably B. gasipaes, while others are used medicinally or for construction.
Aiphanes is a genus of spiny palms which is native to tropical regions of South and Central America and the Caribbean. There are about 26 species in the genus, ranging in size from understorey shrubs with subterranean stems to subcanopy trees as tall as 20 metres (66 ft). Most have pinnately compound leaves ; one species has entire leaves. Stems, leaves and sometimes even the fruit are covered with spines. Plants flower repeatedly over the course of their lifespan and have separate male and female flowers, although these are borne together on the same inflorescence. Although records of pollinators are limited, most species appear to be pollinated by insects. The fruit are eaten by several birds and mammals, including at least two species of amazon parrots.
Syagrus is a genus of Arecaceae (palms), native to South America, with one species endemic to the Lesser Antilles. The genus is closely related to the Cocos, or coconut genus, and many Syagrus species produce edible seeds similar to the coconut.
Euterpe is a genus of palm trees, containing eight species that are native to Central America and the Yucatan, the West Indies, and South America, from Belize and the Windward Islands southward to Brazil, Peru and Argentina. These palms grow mainly in swamps and floodplains.
Oenocarpus bacaba is an economically important monoecious fruiting palm native to South America and the Amazon rainforest, which has edible fruits. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. It can reach up to 20–25 metres tall and 15–25 cm in diameter. It grows in well-drained sandy soils of the Amazon basin.
Aiphanes horrida is a palm native to northern South America and Trinidad and Tobago. Aiphanes horrida is a solitary, spiny tree. In the wild it grows 3–10 metres tall tall with a stem diameter of 6–10 centimetres ; cultivated trees may be as much as 15 m (49') tall with a 15 cm (6") diameter. The epicarp and mesocarp of the fruit are rich in carotene and are eaten in Colombia, while the seeds are used to make candles. In parts of the Colombian Llanos, endocarps are used to play games.
Bactris major is a small to medium-sized spiny palm which ranges from Mexico, through Central America into northern South America and Trinidad. The species is divided into three or four varieties, although the boundaries between varieties is not always clearly defined.
Desmoncus is a genus of mostly climbing, spiny palms native to the Neotropics. The genus extends from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, with two species present in the southeastern Caribbean.
Iriartella is a genus of two species of palms found in northern and northwestern South America. The Nukak people of Colombia use Iriartella setigera to fashion blowguns.
Socratea is a genus of five species of palms found in tropical Central America and South America.
Mauritiella is a dioecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America where it is commonly called buriti. It is named after the similar and closely related genus Mauritia.
Roystonea oleracea, sometimes known as the Caribbean royal palm, palmiste, imperial palm or cabbage palm, is a species of palm which is native to the Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also reportedly naturalized in Guyana and on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean.
Euterpe edulis, commonly known as juçara, jussara, açaí-do-sul or palmiteiro, is a palm species in the genus Euterpe. It is now predominantly used for hearts of palm. It is closely related to the açaí palm, a species cultivated for its fruit and superior hearts of palm. The larvae of Caligo brasiliensis are reported to feed on E. edulis.
Euterpe catinga is a palm species in the genus Euterpe. It is found in forests of a dry, sandy soil and very peculiar vegetation, known as catinga forests or Campinarana in northern South America.
Prestoea acuminata is a species of palm tree native to Central America, the West Indies and South America.
