Assai palm (Euterpe edulis) is a slender, clustering understorey palm of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and neighbouring Argentina, grown mainly for its edible heart of palm. It is best grown in partial shade with moist, well-drained soil, and it is slow to reach harvestable size.
Family
Arecaceae (Palm family)
Grows as
Palm
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist during growth, and allow the top layer to dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Rich, humus-based, well-drained soil or potting mix.
Temperature
15–30 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Brazil to Argentina (Misiones)
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Euterpe edulis, commonly known as juçara, jussara (an archaic alternative spelling), açaí-do-sul or palmiteiro, is a palm species in the genus Euterpe. It is now predominantly used for hearts of palm. It is closely related to the açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea), a species cultivated for its fruit and superior hearts of palm. The larvae of Caligo brasiliensis are reported to feed on E. edulis.
Although it was formerly widely harvested in Brazil for hearts of palm, it is now uncommon in the wild and no longer harvested commercially due to past overharvesting. This could cause it to fall extinct.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euterpe edulis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.