Wine Palm (Attalea butyracea)

Family: Arecaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Attalea butyracea otherwise known as Wine Palm is a tropical, evergreen plant that grows in dry forests in the Amazon. It has a straight, single stem that can grow up to 50 cm in diameter. It serves several functions such as food source and as material for construction. The apical bud is consumed as a vegetable. The sap is fermented producing alcoholic beverages. The fruit has a fleshy and fibrous pulp that can be eaten raw.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Sap/Syrup

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

tasting, with a thick - almost dry - consistency, and a mildly sweet and nutty flavour. — The apical bud is eaten as a vegetable.; Harvesting this bud leads to the eventual death of the trunk because it is unable to produce side shoots.; Sap - fermented to yield an alcoholic beverage.; The sap is obtained by removing the apical bud (which is edible).

Habitat & North American Range

An understorey tree of woodlands and forests, most commonly on edges and in areas of disturbance; also in grassland, sometimes in large stands; frequently in flat areas alongside streams; from the coastal plains to elevations of 1,000 metres. (Zone 10)