Acai (Euterpe oleracea)

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

Commonly found in South America, Acai Palm or Euterpe oleracea is a palm tree cultivated for its fruits and palm hearts. It is tall and slender growing up to 25-30 m high. Its leaves are pinnate and up to 3 m long each. It is medicinally used for haemorrhages, fevers, wounds, scorpion stings, diarrhoea, and jaundice. The fruit is small, purple-black in colour, and can be eaten raw.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Nuts/Seeds, Leaves

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

Flavor & Culinary Uses

rich in antioxidants, it is often used to make a drink that is very popular in the Amazon region of Brazil. — Fruit - raw or cooked.; A thin, fibrous, fleshy pulp with little flavour.; A very nutritious fruit, rich in antioxidants, it is often used to make a drink that is very popular in the Amazon region of Brazil.; The juice is extracted from the small round fruit by soaking the seeds in water to soften the thin outer shell and then squeezing and straining them to produce a very tasty, dense purple liquid.

Habitat & North American Range

Swampy ground, often in sandy soils. Most commonly found along river edges and seasonally flooded habitats in Brazil. (Zone 10)