Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Butia capitata - Jelly Palm, Pindo Palm

Edible Portion: Fruit, Seeds - Oil, Stem

A small palm. It grows up to 5 m tall. It has 40-50 leaves. The trunk has a pattern from the old leaf stubs. The trunk is stout and woody. The leaves hang over and are blue-green. They are 1.3-2 m long and the leaflets form a V shape. Along the edge of the leaf stalk there are sharp spines. The leaflets are 0.8 m long and 2-3 cm wide. The flowers are small and cream. They are 3-8 mm long. They occur as many small flowers along a 1 m long flower stalk. Separate male and female flowers occur along the same stalk. Pollination is by wind and insect. The fruit are yellow to orange and 2-3 cm across. They occur in bunches. The fruit are round with one seed inside. The fruit are edible.