Mauritia flexuosa – Native Plant Search

Native Range

A native plant refers to a species of plant that has naturally evolved and grown in a particular geographic area without any human intervention or introduction. These plants have adapted to the local climate, soil, and ecological conditions over an extended period of time, often thousands of years. Because of this co-evolution with their specific environment, native plants have developed characteristics that make them well-suited to the local ecosystem and provide essential resources for local wildlife.

Native plants play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of an area. They provide food and habitat for native wildlife, support pollinators like bees and butterflies, and contribute to the overall health of the ecosystem. Additionally, native plants often require fewer resources like water and fertilizers compared to non-native or exotic plants that may not be well-suited to the local environment.

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Native Continent

Southern America

Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela (east), Brazil, Acre, Amazonas, Bahia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, Piauí, São Paulo, Amapá, Rondônia, Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Colombia (southeast), Ecuador, Peru,

Natural Habitat

Edible Uses

An edible oil is obtained from the fruit. The fleshy fruit is eaten raw. Rich in vitamins and oil. The fruit is also dried and ground into a flour. The fruit is 4 - 6cm long. A juice made from the pulp of the fruit is eaten with sugar and cassava meal. The pulp is also widely used in the production of juice, jam, liqueurs and other exotic drinks with a high vitamin C content. A favourite native beverage is produced from the fruits. They are soaked in water till they begin to ferment, and the scales and pulpy matter soften and can be easily rubbed off in water. When strained through a sieve it is ready for use, and has a slight acid taste and a peculiar flavour of the fruit at first rather disagreeable to European palates. The fruit is made into a cheese-like paste that is sometimes eaten for remedying bowel problems, or to allay hunger when desperate. An edible starch is obtained from the pith of the trunk. Used as a sago. Leaves - cooked. The apical bud, often known as a palm heart', is eaten as a vegetable. Eating this bud leads to the death of the tree because it is unable to make sideshoots. A sap obtained by tapping the young, unopened inflorescence can be drunk, boiled down to make a sugar or fermented to make palm wine. A sweet alcoholic drink called 'item' is prepared from the sap. The terminal bud is eaten as vegetable. Eating this bud will effectively kill the tree since it is unable to produce side branches.