Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of palm varieties are grown around the world for their edible parts. We all know about coconut and date palms, but did you know about the peach palm’s delicious heart and the tasty edible fruit from the salak palm? Recent interest in acai palms for their super food fruit and saw palmetto for its use in treating prostate problems has added to the list of palms that we now know produce food, as well as valuable healing products.
In fact, palms are the third most important plant family with respect to human use, just behind grasses and beans. In addition to the palm products we use regularly, a worldwide dependence on products like palm oil exists, as well as localized uses of the sap, inflorescences and fruit of individual species.
Many of the useful palms are also attractive specimens that can add interest and purpose to a tropical garden. Quite a few are locally available and can be easily incorporated into your edible landscape.
Some palms are known only by their botanical names. Butia yatay sports an exotic name, interesting trunk and long, arching fronds, as well as edible fruit. The rare Carpoxylon macrospermum is native to Vanuatu with an interesting bulbous base and a smooth, bright-green crown shaft that is particularly handsome when the plants are young. The green immature fruit is regularly consumed in Vanuatu.
Three palms in the Dypsis genus, D. pilufera, D. baronii and D. madagascariensis, provide tasty fruit and edible hearts, and are attractive additions to the landscape. With a bamboo-like trunk and long lime-green leaves, you are unlikely to want to cut them down for their hearts unless you grow them in groves.
Also of edible interest are some more familiar palms, whose edible and useful qualities may be unfamiliar to us. The small parlor palm, Chamaedorea elegans, that graces many indoor and outdoor settings produces a tasty inflorescence that is best eaten raw or cooked before it fully opens. The jelly palm, Butia capitata, is named for the delicious jelly that is often made from its fruit. Caryota mitis, best known locally as the fishtail palm, also produces good heart of palm and as a clumping species, can provide a steady supply. The unusual bottle palm, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, is an attractive small palm that produces edible seeds. The equally small Mediterranean fan palm, Chamaerops humilis, can be enjoyed in many ways. The fruit from this clumping palm is eaten in Morocco. The young suckers are cooked and added to Italian dishes and the heart, called palmito, is enjoyed in Spain. Any way you look at it, this attractive fan palm is an asset to a landscape.
The queen palm is a tall, graceful solitary palm with a botanical name befitting a queen, Syagrus romanzoffiana. The fruit consists of a hard nut surrounded with a thin layer of fibrous flesh that is orange and sticky when ripe. The flavor is sweet and could be described as a mixture of plum and banana. This palm is grown in groves to harvest for the heart, but as a solitary specimen, the fruit is the best choice for food.
Tropical
gardening helpline
Tanya asks: I know you can use many edible plants to make relaxing, cleansing and healing products. I see them in the stores, but they are often very expensive. I’m sure I could make them less expensively and use ingredients I have in my garden. Where do I get recipes so I can make some at home for myself?
Answer: As people become more aware of the many possible uses for plants in their garden, this question comes up often. Many local herbalists and natural cosmetologists make products using ingredients that grow here, some of which are edible. Mostly they do not share their proprietary recipes, but some will give general information about the healing qualities of certain herbs and plants.
A good way to start would be to research the healing properties of the plants you currently have growing in your garden. An herbal bath soak for aches and pains might contain herbs known for their relaxing properties. Chamomile, lavender, rosemary, comfrey, passion flower and even peppermint leaves from your garden would be good choices. Combining the herbs with Epsom salts, baking soda or buttermilk might increase the soothing quality of the soak.
You can find cleansing, scrubbing and rubbing formulas online using herbs and common household ingredients but to find formulas exactly suited to your body’s needs using local ingredients might be difficult unless you consult with a local herbalist or cosmetic formulator.
Email plant questions to konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu for answers by certified master gardeners. Some questions will be chosen for inclusion in this column.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant with an organic farm in Captain Cook.
