Socratea rostrata

Burret

Crespa

Arecaceae Edible: Cabbage, Palm heart, Seeds, Fruit 7 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A solitary palm. It grows 25 m tall. The trunk is 13 cm across. There is a cone of 15-26 stilt roots around the base of the palm. There are 4-7 leaves. They have a feather-like appearance. The leaflets are divided and the tips hang down. The flower stalk has 4 bracts. There are 8-11 flowering branches. These can be 60 cm long and 5 mm across. The fruit is oval and has a beak at the tip. The fruit are 3.5 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. They are yellowish-brown.

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked. The apical bud, often called the 'palm heart', is eaten as a vegetable. Eating this bud leads to the death of the tree because it is unable to make any side branches or new growth. Immature seeds are sometimes eaten.

Traditional Uses

The palm hearts are eaten. The young seeds are eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in mountain forest between 1,000-1,400 m altitude.

Where It Grows

Amazon, Andes, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, South America,

Synonyms

Metasocratea hecatonandra DugandSocratea hecatonandra (Dugand) R.BernalSocratea montana R.Bernal & A.J.Hend.

Also Known As

Buro, Chingu, Chinku, Chonta cade, Chonta, Crespa, Gualte, Huagrachanga, Kasha puna, Kupat, Naquenque, Pambil, Patudo, Tssatssavo'jin

References (7)

Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 613
Henderson, A., Galeano, G and Bernal, R., 1995, Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. Princeton. p 111
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 813
Marcia, M. J., et al, 2011, Palm Uses in Northwestern South America: A Quantitative Review. Bot. Rev. (2011) 77:462-570
Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.

Show all 7 references

Torre, de la L., et al, 2008, Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador. Herbario QCA. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. p 209
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew