Fruit From Palm Trees

Fruit from palm trees come in amazing assorted varieties!

Palm trees produce a number of unique fruits. Some are quite delicious. And no doubt you've heard of the well-known coconut and perhaps the date. Did you know the date is a palm tree fruit?

Have you heard of the acai berry? Lately has gotten more popular. There's said to be some healthful benefits from eating acai.

We've tried it a few times. Had a fruit bowl mixture including acai that was quite good. Lately I've been buying organic green tea with blueberry & acai concentrate added in. I love it, & have been reordering.

PL

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You could Try It Out - We Recommend It! Even more-so if you're a regular tea drinker.

For the fruits from palm trees, you can explore many options.

Actually, all Palms Grow Fruit. With 2400/+ species of palm trees in the world, there are that many sorts of fruits from palms. Some are edible, probably the fruit from palm trees in about 100 species. So you can see most are not.

We'll decipher all of that here! 

So, be ready to discover this diverse & sometimes delicious world of palm tree fruit.

Introduction to Fruit from Palm Trees

When thinking of palm trees, most people think of their unique look. Plus their connection with tropical climates.

But we know that they all have a stunning variety of fruits! From sweet & juicy, to tart, tangy, bitter & inedible.

We'll explore different types of fruit from palm trees. From the good, the bad & the ugly!! Let's see a selection of the edible, the questionable & the awful/don't eat 'em!

Boy making a terrible face when eating a fruit

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Edible Palm Tree Fruits

Edible fruit from palm trees are used regularly. Some types of palms are cultivated exactly for their palm fruit.

You may not have heard of many of these palm tree fruits, since they don't ship them elsewhere. They don't last long. No kind of shelf life.

If you visit the area where these palms primarily grow, you may have a chance to taste them. Seeing if you'd like them!

PEACH PALM

Surely sounds like a palm tree with yummy fruit. Bactris gasipaes is found from Central to South America. Fruits are orange, yellow or red. 

  • The fruit is locally called Chontaduro. It's a diet staple. Often eaten right off the palm.
  • They have a potato-like consistency. 
  • Growers even developed a seedless version.
Orange fruit from a palm treeWoman Prepares Orange Peach Palm Fruit
At Santiago de Cali Columbia Airport

VEGETABLE IVORY PALM

Hyphaene petersiana is native to central areas of Southern Africa. If well cared for, it grows quickly.

  • People like its sweet fruit. After getting rid of the prickly outer shell!
  • Other parts of this palm are regionally widely useful.
Vegetable Ivory Palm FruitVegetable Ivory Palm has some good fruit. That's the palm it comes from!

CHILEAN WINE PALM

Jubaea chilensis originated in Chile's savannahs & lower Andes' foothills. Fruits are small & round. May be yellow, orange or something in between. 

  • It became endangered because the sap's been used for wine production. Trees were cut down for the process. Now they're protected.
  • With the tiny size & huge palm fronds, fruits may hide! 
  • But find them & drill down to the seed, that's delish! Having a coconutty taste.
Chilean Wine Palm Fruit with nutJubaea chilensis Fruit Shows the Inner Nut
Fell From a Chilean Wine Palm at Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens in Hobart

SEA COCONUT

AKA Double Coconut. Lodoicea maldivida comes from two islands of the Seychelles. Which are huge! Resembling two black coconuts hooked together.

  • They take up to seven years to ripen.
  • Snails & geckos are attracted to the flowers. Probably helping with fruit propagation.
  • What's valued is the gargantuan inner seeds, the largest on earth! 
  1. With gargantuan legends attached!! See what they are when you Get Our Monthly Memos>
Double Coconut Palm TreeOn an Estate, They've Rigged Holders For Protection
Coco de Mer Double nutSo Strange a Look, They Put It in a Museum Collection!

UBUSSU PALM

Manicaria saccifera comes from areas in Central & South America. Also called Yolillo Palm, the tree has many local uses. The fruit becomes a refreshing, nourishing drink. Or even a cough syrup.

  • The look is somewhat different. It has triangular scales with curly spurs. Its shape is solid & usually roundish. 
  • Often found away from their palm origins. Because they typically drop down & roll into nearby flowing waters. Until they land & find a place to begin sprouting.
  • When unripe its inner section is liquidy.
Manicaria saccifera palm fruit sampleThe Museum de Toulouse Specimen Photo Helps Evaluate the Ubussu Palm Fruit's Size

MORICHE PALM

Mauritia flexuosa loves steamy, Amazonia's swampy. Hogging up areas where it grows. It's fabulously gorgeous, with many district uses, including making rope, hammocks, paper & more. Plus its edible palm fruits.

  • A typical fruit is three inches, kind-of egg-shaped. With a scaly skin. 
  • People get the dark red, ripened fruits to eat right off the palm tree. 
  • They also gather them to make baking flour. Even express the oil for cooking. Or ferment the fruit for a tipsy style drink!
Moriche Palm fruitsThis Moriche Palm Has Fruits
Moriche Palm fruitsClose-up Look of Ripe, Moriche Palm Fruits - Looks Delish?

RED SALAK

Salacca affinis is from the islands of Southeast Asia. Likes swampy rain forests. The scientific name's Latin meaning is "kin to" or "neighboring."

  • It has locally eaten, teardrop shaped, red fruits. 
  • In Thailand it's called Luk sala, or written in Thai: ลูกสละ. You may hear it called Snake Fruit. 
  • Some say it tastes kind of sour. Others think it's like a smoothie with dried bananas & dates mashed with jackfruit.
Luk sala palm fruitWhat Do You Think About Trying Snake Fruit?

ACAI BERRIES

The fruit from Acai Palm Trees (Euterpe oleracea) are popularized as the superfood of palms. Recently becoming one of the most favorable fruits from palm trees. Acai berries are actually drupes (Learn About Palm Fruit Drupes).

You'll find them in (ad link) Healthy Tea Mixtures smoothie bowls, juices & other creative dishes. They've become popular around the world, with a unique flavor.

They're native to the Amazon rainforest, in its preferred estuary-type environment. Local people use this fruit from the Acai palm in many dishes, & also eat its heart of palm.

These small, purple berries - sometimes green - grow yearly on about 8 infructescences  per palm. Once picked, they're only good for about 24 hours. They must be dried or flash frozen to survive shipping. 

The high antioxidant content accounts for that "Superfood" Reputation. Antioxidants can help protect the body against damage from free radicals. But also, Acai berries are generally nutritionally packed! They have lots of good fiber & vitamin C. They contain healthy fats, plus potassium & phytochemicals.

Questionably Edible Fruits

Some palm tree fruits aren't likeable by humans. Even though they're technically edible. You could try them out if you'd want. What do you think your reaction would be?

But they're valued as useful animal feed.

MACAW PALM

Also known as Macaúba. The Acrocomia aculeata (the epithet means prickly) has a fibrous fruit. Found in Mexico, the Caribbean & areas of South America.

  • Although people have been known to eat the sweet pulp, it's more useful to humans for the oil. 
  • This palm's fruit is primarily given over to feed animals. 
  • But there are stories from Panama about the palm tree's sap for an alcoholic drink that will zap your wild disposition into gear!
Immature Grugu NutsAcrocomia aculeata With Still Unripe Grugu Nuts

CANARY ISLAND DATE PALM

Phoenix canariensis originated on the Canary Islands - think you figured that! At full growth, this palm tree is massive. The large leaves are used for baskets.

  • It produces oval-shaped almost dayglo orange fruit. 
  • They're technically okay to eat. But would you want to? Their taste isn't very tasty!
Canary Island Date Palm fruitsFruit in Abundance on the Phoenix canariensis Palm
  • Another part gives something tasty: new growth inflorescences ooze sap. That's transformed to honey.
Canary Island Palm flowersFlowering Inflorescences on the Canary Island Date Palm

AFRICAN WILD DATE PALM

Phoenix reclinata is also called Senegal Date Palm. Yes, growing in Africa, especially riverside areas. Fruits might be an acquired taste! They're locally eaten by some. 

  • It likes having friends - producing clustering palms from suckers alongside. They grow up at an angle. 
  • Provincially useful palm in construction, for baskets, etc. 
  • With brownish oval fruits, under one inch long. 
  1. The seeds inside are ground into flour.
Wild Date Palm FruitWild Date Palm Fruits at Skukuza Nursery
In Kruger National Park, South Africa

CHERRY PALM

Also called Wine Palm, the Pseudophoenix vinifera is sadly endangered within its original indigenous source, on Hispaniola. Resulting from constant cutting for wine production. 

  • Palm fronds widely in use. 
  • Fruits are distinctive, brilliantly red in a long inflorescence. From 1-2 inches, round. 
  • But don't think you'd want a taste - yuk! 
  1. Instead they're fed to domestic animals.
Non-tasty Cherry palm tree fruits

Other Fruit from Palm Trees

Palmyra to Betel Nut & More!

Many other varieties are worth exploring. We have a few more examples here.

PALMYRA FRUIT

The Doub Palm or Palmyra Palm has even more common names!

Borassus flabellifer is a Native Palm Tree in South & Southeast Asia. Its palmyra fruit is a popular ingredient in South Asian cuisine. It has a sweet, jelly-like flesh.

BE CAREFUL WITH THE KNIFE!

BETEL NUT

On the other hand, this palm tree fruit is a stimulant. Coming from the Areca Palm (Areca catechu), it's sometimes called the areca nut.

Its use is specifically for the energy boost it causes. It speeds up the central nervous system from some of its ingredients causing an adrenaline release. Commonly chewed in areas of Asia, the Pacific Islands & East Africa.

Long-term users can be spotted by their purplish tinted teeth.

It can even cause tooth loss & is reportedly a carcinogen. So there are health risks to using it.

Poster showing the fruit from the Areca Palm which produces the Betal Nut

Takeaways for Fruit From Palm Trees

Many other palm fruits have their own unique flavor & culinary/not uses. For their varied & local uses in multiple cultures. Some examples are:

  • Orange Palm Tree Fruit - From the Butia capitata palm, producing a Jelly Palm Fruit.
  • Fan Palm Tree Fruit - Which includes two types of fruits from fan palm trees
  1. Washingtonia robusta - The fruit from palm trees of this species can be freshly eaten, or dried.
  2. California Fan Palm Fruit - from the Washingtonia filifera palm.

The next time you're looking to try something new, think of considering the wide variety of fruits from palm trees.

See if these may interest you...