Açaí palm
| Euterpe | |
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| Euterpe oleracea | |
The Açaí palm (Assai palm) is a type of palm tree. There are seven different types of Açaí palms.[1][2] The tree grows in Central and South America. It has a black-purple fruit about the size of a grape called a euterpe. The seed inside is very big. The fruit grows in bunches of 700 to 900 fruits.
The palms are mainly used for two things: First, salads called palmitos (heart of palm) can be made from the leaves; for this, the tree needs to be cut down. Secondly, the fruits can be made into a fruit juice that is said to be very healthy.
Images[change | change source]
The fruits on a market, in Belem
A typical serving of açaí juice
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ↑ "Euterpe oleracea". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
Other websites[change | change source]
- Pictures of Açaí palms trees and fruit Archived 2006-01-17 at the Wayback Machine from an article by The Nature Conservancy.
- University of Florida study confirms that açaí berries contain antioxidants that destroyed cultured human cancer cells Archived 2014-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
- Jewelry made from Açaí seeds Archived 2009-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Euterpe oleracea.
Wikispecies has information on: Açaí palm.
