PlantFiles: Assai Palm, Juçara Palm
Euterpe edulis

Euterpe Edulis is a winner for me in Southern California. Loves the part shade and sun combo with the soil moist. Looks like it is thriving and a fast grower. I am in 10a near the coastal influence.

This palm can grow well in San Francisco, and there are a few trunking trees around in private gardens, although there are no photos of elegant ones in CA< many do exist.

The fruits of this palm are eaten locally, rarely produced in commercial scale. However, this palm is cultivated for its heart, the palmetto, which is edible and extremely apreciated (it´s delicious), which is promoting the extinction in natural habitats.

Euterpe edulis, and other tropical palms are being cultivated to try to save this species.

Considered by many palm nuts a tough palm to grow here in Southern California, if you have the right microclimate, they do quite well. It is a bit frost tender, but it likes lots of sun and takes a good deal of wind. It is just really fussy sometimes. Called 'edulis' since the fruit is edible and commonly eaten in its native South American countries. It is a tall, skinny palm with a long, attractive light green to bronzey crownshaft. It is a single stemmed palm (most Euterpes are suckering). It is the only species in the genus that can survive in Southern California (the rest are too tropical).