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Butia odorata
Arecaceae FAMILY

Butia odorata

Butia odorata

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Butia odorata is native to the warm temperate and subtropical environment of southern Brazil and Uruguay[1]. It does not succeed in hot, wet, lowland tropical areas[2]. It can succeed in drier areas with an annual rainfall as low as 250mm and one month or more where rainfall is below 25mm[2]. This is the hardiest species in the genus and can tolerate some frost - one report says it is unharmed by temperatures down to about -2°c[3], whilst another says that it can tolerate occasional, short-lived temperatures falling as low as -10°c[4]. There are several mature specimens in south-west Cornwall, England (hardiness zone 8 - 9) that were planted in the early 1900's[5]. Succeeds in most fertile moist but well-drained soils in a sheltered sunny position[6, 3, 5]. Tolerates light shade[6]. Plants grow well in full sun, even when small[2]. Plants can tolerate at least some maritime exposure with salt spray and somewhat saline soil conditions[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant[4, 7]. A very variable plant, with many forms and varieties[2]. The plant can be grown successfully in a pot for a number of years, taking the pot outdoors in the summer and keeping it in a conservatory during the winter[3]. A very slow-growing plant[5, 4]. Palms usually have deep penetrating root systems and generally establish best when planted out at a young stage. However, older plants are substantially more cold tolerant than juvenile plants[5]. In areas at the limit of their cold tolerance, therefore, it is prudent to grow the plants in containers for some years, giving them winter protection, and only planting them into their permanent positions when sheer size dictates[5]. Palms can also be transplanted even when very large. Although the thick fleshy roots are easily damaged and/or desiccated, new roots are generally freely produced. It is important to stake the plant very firmly to prevent rock, and also to give it plenty of water until re-established - removing many of the leaves can also help[5].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a warm greenhouse at not less than 24°c[6]. Stored seed is very slow to germinate. Pre-soaking the seed for 24 hours in warm water prior to sowing may shorten the germination time. Plants form a long tap-root some time before forming a shoot. Germination of fresh seed usually takes place in 3 - 4 months at 25°c[8]. Plant out into individual pots either as soon as root growth is noticed or as soon as top growth appears. Grow on in a greenhouse for at least the first winter. See Cultivation notes above regarding planting them outdoors. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Butia+odorata>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia. — http://www.pacsoa.org.au/ ↩︎Contains at least a little information on the majority of palm and cycad species, plus a wealth of photographs. A first class website.
  5. [5]Palms for Cooler Climates. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Trebah Enterprises. · 1993 · ISBN 0 9521952 0 8 ↩︎An excellent little booklet on the subject, though it does not mention many plant uses.
  6. [6]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  7. [7]Trade Winds Fruit — http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/index.htm ↩︎The on-line catalogue of a company selling seeds. Gives descriptions, photos and uses of a very wide range of fruit and other food-producing plants plus ornamentals.
  8. [8]Growing from Seed. Volume 3. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1989 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  9. [9]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.
  10. [10]Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas — Henderson A.; Galeano G.; Bernal R. · Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey. · 1995 · ISBN 0-691-08537-4 ↩︎An excellent book, giving basic information on all the 550 species of palms native to the Americas that were known in 1995. Comprehensive information on the plants range and habitat, brief description, some uses and almost 250 photos.
  11. [11]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  14. [14]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  15. [15]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  16. [16]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.
  17. [17]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  18. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎