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Acrocomia aculeata
Arecaceae FAMILY

Acrocomia aculeata

Acrocomia aculeata

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

A plant of semi-arid to very moist lowland regions of the tropics, where it is usually found below an elevation of 1,000 metres[1, 2]. It grows best in areas where temperatures never fall below 10°c, preferring a mean annual temperature in the range 25 - 35°c, whilst tolerating 20 - 45°c[2]. The mean annual rainfall it prefers is 1,000 - 2,000mm, though it can tolerate 500 - 3,000mm[2]. The driest month has 25mm or more rain[1]. Prefers a sunny position[3]. Requires a well-drained soil[1]. Prefers a rich soil, though it also succeeds in poor soils[4, 2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, though it can tolerate from 5 - 7.5[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant[2]. A very slow-growing plant[3]. Plants are fairly fire tolerant[2]. A very variable plant, it has a plethora of synonyms.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in individual containers. A low germination rate can usually be expected, with the seed taking more than a year to sprout[3]. Some people scarify the seed and then soak it in water for as long as several weeks in order to get it to germinate[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Acrocomia+aculeata>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Palms of the World — Blombery. A. & Rodd. T. · Angus and Robertson · 1992 · ISBN 0-207-14848-1 ↩︎An excellent guide, well illustrated, with information on cultivation, uses, habitat etc of almost 200 species of Palms.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Brazilian Trees. Volume 1. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-17-8 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
  4. [4]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  5. [5]Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics — Lorenzi. H.; Bacher. L.; Lacerda. M.; Sartori. S. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora LTDA; Brazil. · 2000 · ISBN 85-867174-24-0 ↩︎A superb book, giving information on several hundred fruit species. Each entry has a brief description of the plant and its uses, accompanied by one to many excellent quality photographs of the fruits.
  6. [6]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  7. [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium Vol. 05 — Washington Government Printing Office; Washington · 1897 - 1901 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A botanical journal with a range of articles. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  9. [9]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics
  10. [10]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  11. [11]Heart of Palm Use: A Family Survey — Scott Zona, Ph.D. · Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Virtual Herbarium. · http://www.virtualherbarium.org/palmresearch/Hearts_of_Palm_table.html ↩︎An on-line article listing the botanical names and range of palm trees that have an edible apical bud.
  12. [12]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎