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Euterpe oleracea
Arecaceae FAMILY

Euterpe oleracea

Euterpe oleracea

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of the moist to wet tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 3,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 16 - 32°c[1]. It can be killed by temperatures of 5°c or lower[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,800 - 2,300mm, but tolerates 1,200 - 3,000mm[1]. Prefers a position sheltered from the sun with plenty of moisture[2]. Mature plants should be able to tolerate full sun[2], so long as there is plenty of humidity[3]. Prefers a rich, moist, well-drained soil[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 5.5, tolerating 4.5 - 6.5[1]. A moderately robust species, it usually produces multiple stems (up to 12 stems) though sometimes it only has one stem with a few suppressed suckers at the base[2]. A fast-growing plant[5]. Plants usually flower throughout the year but the fruit harvesting season is for only 6 months of the year[3].

Propagation

Seed - it has a short viability of less than three months and so is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed. Pre-soak them in cold water for 24 hours prior to sowing[6]. A germination rate of around 80% or more can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 30 - 70 days[6]. The seed germinates rapidly and grows quickly[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Euterpe+oleracea>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  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]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.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]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.
  9. [9]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.
  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]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  12. [12]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎