Attalea butyracea

Attalea butyracea

The American oil palm or rooster-tail palm, yagua palm, Kuakish (Attalea butyracea (Mutis ex L. f.) Wess. Boer) is an arboreal species belonging to the Arecaceae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Magnoliophyta division,
Class Liliopsida,
Subclass Arecidae,
Arecales Order,
Arecaceae family,
Subfamily Arecoideae,
Tribe Cocoseae,
Subtribe Attaleinae,
Genus Attalea,
Species A. butyracea.
The term is basionym:
– Cocos butyracea Mutis ex L.f..
The terms are synonyms:
– Attalea blepharopus Mart.;
– Attalea gomphococca Mart.;
– Attalea humboldtiana Spruce;
– Attalea macrocarpa (H.Karst.) Wess.Boer;
– Attalea pycnocarpa Wess.Boer;
– Attalea wallisii Huber;
– Cocos butyracea Mutis;
– Scheelea blepharopus (Mart.) Burret;
– Scheelea butyracea (Mutis ex L.f.) H.Karst.;
– Scheelea butyracea (Mutis ex L.f.) H.Karst. ex H.Wendl.;
– Scheelea dryanderae Burret;
– Scheelea excelsa H.Karst.;
– Scheelea gomphococca (Mart.) Burret;
– Scheelea humboldtiana (Spruce) Burret;
– Scheelea macrocarpa H.Karst.;
– Scheelea passargei Burret;
– Scheelea regia H.Karst.;
– Scheelea wallisii (Huber) Burret.

Etymology –
The term Attalea derives from the name of Attalo Filometore Evergete (170 BC – Pergamum, 133 BC), called in modern historiography Attalus III, king of Pergamum from 138 BC. until his death and scholar of medicine and botany.
The specific epithet butyracea comes from the Latin adjective butyraceus, a, um, i.e. buttery, oily, in reference to oilseeds.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Attalea butyracea is a palm native to an area that goes from Mexico to northern South America. Its distribution includes: Bolivia, Brazil (Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Federal District of Brasilia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Roraima, Rondônia and Tocantins), Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hondura, Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Veracruz), Panama, Peru, Trinidad-Tobago and Venezuela.
Its natural habitat is that of the undergrowth of the humid forests, often along the banks of the rivers, and in the savannahs and degraded semi-arid areas, where it is often the dominant species, frequently in flat areas along water streams, from the coastal plains to 1,000 meters.

Description –
Attalea butyracea is a monoecious, evergreen, single-stemmed palm, which reaches heights of 8 – 10 meters and with a trunk of 35 – 75 cm in diameter.
The trunk is gray-brown, covered in the younger part by the base of the old leaves.
It has from 25 to 40 leaves with 1-1,5 m long and 30-45 cm broad sheaths, with a 4-5 m long rachis. The leaves are pinnate, up to 9 m long with a foliar base provided at the margins with robust rigid fibres, short or absent petiole, linear pinnules, up to 1,5 m long in the central part and about 6 cm broad, of bright green color above , pale green below, regularly distributed along the rachis on the same plane and vertically arranged in the second half of the leaf.
The inflorescences are found between the leaves initially enclosed in a persistent woody spathe up to about 2 m long, erect, hanging in fruit, ramified, up to 1,3 m long, carrying either only male flowers, or with female flowers at the base and male flowers at the apex.
The male flowers are of a light cream color with three sepals, three petals, about 1,5 cm long, and 6 stamens; the female flowers are dark cream colored about 2 cm long; the flowers give off a pungent smell.
The fruits are ovoid or ellipsoidal in shape, with pointed apex, 5-10 cm long and of 3-4,5 cm of diameter; they are yellow, orange or brown when ripe.
Inside them there are 1-3 whitish seeds, 3-5 cm long and 0.6-1.4 cm in diameter, containing 50-60% of oil.

Cultivation –
The Attalea butyracea is an evergreen palm which has been used since ancient times, in the areas of origin, for various uses, including food.
This plant is among the most widespread in tropical America and cultivable in tropical and subtropical climate areas. As an adult, it can resist sporadic, and for a very short time, drops in temperature around the 0 °C.
Plants thrive in humid tropical climates where temperatures never drop below 10°C, average annual rainfall is 1,500mm or more, and the driest month has 25mm or more of rain.
In cultivation it requires full sun, availability of water and is not particular about the soil, however it prefers a humid soil.
It is a palm of great landscape value, but rarely employed, usable isolated, in group or in rows in large parks and gardens.
The plant reproduces by seed, cleaned of fruit residues, placed at a depth of about 5 cm, at a temperature of 26-28 °C. Germination usually occurs in 4-6 months.

Customs and Traditions –
Attalea butyracea is known in the areas of origin with various names including: corozo, cuesco, cuma, coyoles, shebón, curumuta, palma de vino, yagua; in English with the names of American oil palm, rooster-tail palm, yagua palm; in Brazil (Portuguese) as aricuri, jaci; in Spanish with the names of canambo, coquito, corozo, corozo de puerco, coyol real, palla, palma de agua, palma de vino, palma real, yagua.
The fruit of this species has been utilized, since ancient times, as food in various indigenous communities of South America. The pulp, yellow in color, is an important source of livelihood for the natives.
The endocarp is used as fuel. The mesocarp of the fruit is used to prepare drinks for wine. An oil is obtained from the seed which is used in the manufacture of soaps (even if the particular hardness of the endocarp is an obstacle to its commercial extraction), while the resulting cake is used as animal feed. Also, heart of palm is a rich food.
Among the agroforestry uses, it should be remembered that this palm spreads very rapidly in disturbed and man-made habitats.
This trait gives it excellent potential for use as a pioneer species in native woodland restoration and, given its wide range of uses, makes it particularly useful in creating woodland gardens.
The leaves are also widely used for thatched roofs and for weaving into various articles.
If harvested at the right time (with leaves neither too old nor too young), roofs made of this material can last four years or more.
The large fronds are divided lengthwise, along the midrib. Then they are placed next to each other and tied to beams made of poles. Finally, the leaflets are woven together. Generally palm leaf roofs need to be steep enough to allow for rainwater runoff and prevent infiltration.
With a fiber obtained from the leaves you can make ropes and coarse fabrics.
Wood is used for construction.

Method of Preparation –
Attalea butyracea is a palm whose palm hearts are consumed. They are a crunchy, nutrient-rich food that can be eaten raw or cooked. However, it should be remembered that harvesting the heart will lead to the death of the plant since it is unable to produce new shoots.
An alcoholic beverage can be made from the fermented sap. The sap is obtained by removing the apical shoot (which, as mentioned, is edible). The sap collects in the cavity where the shoot was.
fruit is eaten raw; it has a fleshy and fibrous pulp, with a good taste, with a dense, almost dry texture, and a slightly sweet and nutty taste.
The seeds are eaten and are rich in oil.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/204295586/original.jpeg
– https://medialib.naturalis.nl/file/id/U.1124601/format/large

Attention: The pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not in any way represent a medical prescription; we therefore decline all responsibility for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.