Tucuma. Awarra palm, Tucum palm.

Medicinal Uses

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Apical bud  Fruit  Oil  Sap  Seed | Edible Uses: OilFruit - raw[297 , 416 ]. Slightly sweet[416 ]. A flavour similar to apricots[301 ]. Used for making juices[418 ]. The mesocarp is rich in provitamin A; it provides a fatty, mashed pulp that is used to prepare the very popular French Guianan dish 'bouillon d'awara', which is traditionally eaten at Easter time[1869 ]. The orange-red, globose to ovoid fruit is 35 - 45mm long and 25 - 35mm wide with a fleshy mesocarp covering a single large seed[1874 ]. After harvesting, the fruits are stored for 3 days in sacks to ripen and allow the pulp soften slightly. They must then be eaten within 3 - 4 days before they dry and rot where bruised[324 ]. The immature endosperm gives a juice called vino de tucuma, used for a drink or in culinary preparations[418 ]. An excellent oil, used for cooking, can be obtained from the fruits[297 , 324 ]. Similar to coconut oil[301 , 418 ]. The seed contains a hard white substance from which a fine edible fat can be extracted[418 ]. The seed contains 30 - 50% oil[419 ]. The fruits and seeds of various species in this genus are reported to be used for oil production in the Amazon region[1869 ]. Existing analyses of fruit fat content show a relatively homogeneous composition among the different species, with around. 20% of fat content in the mesocarp, mostly composed of oleic and palmitic acids, and 20 - 35% of fat content in the endosperm, with a predominance of lauric acid[1869 ]. The palm heart (the inner core and growing bud of the plant) is harvested[418 Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ]. It provides a crispy food, rich in nutrients, that can be eaten raw or cooked. Harvesting the heart will lead to the death of the stem it was harvested from, though in multi-stemmed plants such as this the rest of the plant will continue to grow and often produce new stems[K ]. A wine is made from the fermented sap of the spathe[418 ].

Cultivation

Management: Standard  Regional Crop  Staple Crop: OilA plant of the moist tropical lowlands, where it is found at elevations up to 150 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 28c, but can tolerate 18 - 30c[418 ]. It can be killed by temperatures of 2c or lower[418 ]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,300 - 1,800mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 3,000 mm[418 ]. Requires a sunny, sheltered position[297 ]. Seedlings require some shade, whilst larger palms thrive in full sun[418 ]. Plants do not like dry conditions at their roots[297 ]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7, tolerating 4 - 8[418 ]. Plants regrow very vigorously from their roots after being cut down or after a fire. They are considered to be a serious weed species of pasture land[419 ]. Young plants have a moderate rate of growth[419 ]. Although usually spiny, occasional spineless forms exist in nature[418 ].

Known Hazards

None known

Habitats

Rainforest[297 ]. Especially in disturbed sites[324 ]. Found in the rainforest of the Amazon and the savannahs of Surinam on flat to gently rolling terrain[418 ]. Occurs mainly on land that is not subject to periodic inundation[419 ].