Mauritia flexuosa from seed

[John in Andalucia]

Step 1.

[Jeff Searle]

Step 2...send me some fresh seed, so I can grow some!

[dalmatiansoap]

Well I see an export....

[Mandrew968]

  On 11/4/2011 at 1:41 AM, Jeff Searle said:

Step 2...send me some fresh seed, so I can grow some!

You already have the best looking one I have ever seen; What do you want with some seeds--gonna raise them up and sell me some?

[paulgila]

they look alot like salak(snakefruit). what does it taste like? what does the inside look like?

[MattyB]

they look just like Salacca from the pics I've seen.

[paulgila]

i just said that!

[John in Andalucia]

I'm really pleased to have found these in the local supermarket - at $1.15 a pack, who wouldn't be?

Paul, I haven't tried them yet. I'm keeping them in the fridge until just before I leave for Spain in 3 weeks. Only then, will I devour the fruit! On second thoughts, only then - will my GF devour them! Aguaje is a wonder-female-hormone fruit in Latin America, known for its plethora of healing properties, as well as promoting, "firm breasts and large buttocks" in Amazonian women all over S. America.

For the facts and more, here's a translated blog all about: Aguaje

The plan is for my GF to ship me these on a regular basis. She gets to eat the fruit, I sell the seeds, and the next time we meet (she's not coming to Spain this time around) I'll be an even happier man! How can I lose!

[hanapalms]

How fast does this palm grow? Does it need as much water as C. renda? More?

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/6/2011 at 5:46 AM, hanapalms said:

How fast does this palm grow? Does it need as much water as C. renda? More?

William, I would consider Mauritia flexuosa a "fast" grower in the tropics. How fast? I couldn't make a comparison, since I don't have that experience. It's a swamp dweller - i.e. semi-aquatic.

[Mandrew968]

If it doesn't have all of its requirements met, then it is painfully slow. South Florida can rarely meet all of these, so for us, it is not anywhere near a "fast" palm...

[amazondk]

  On 11/4/2011 at 7:42 PM, John in Andalucia said:

I'm really pleased to have found these in the local supermarket - at $1.15 a pack, who wouldn't be?

Paul, I haven't tried them yet. I'm keeping them in the fridge until just before I leave for Spain in 3 weeks. Only then, will I devour the fruit! On second thoughts, only then - will my GF devour them! Aguaje is a wonder-female-hormone fruit in Latin America, known for its plethora of healing properties, as well as promoting, "firm breasts and large buttocks" in Amazonian women all over S. America.

For the facts and more, here's a translated blog all about: Aguaje

The plan is for my GF to ship me these on a regular basis. She gets to eat the fruit, I sell the seeds, and the next time we meet (she's not coming to Spain this time around) I'll be an even happier man! How can I lose!

John,

I was not aware of the Mauritias had a wonder female hormone. I thought it was from eating a lot of river fish. Although the trees grow all over the place in Brazilian amazonia it is not a fruit consumed on any large scale. In fact around these parts the only thing you will find is a drink, like aça (sometimes)i, ice creame and frozen fruit bars. The frozen fruit bars are real good. You never see the fruit for sale here. You can make a flour or meal out of them as well. They are a favorite food source for parrots though. I was noticing this morning that a lot of trees are started have ripe fruit. I have posted a lot of Mauritia photos in threads in the past. They are one of the most beautiful of our local palm trees right along with the Euterpe precatoria.

As far as growing conditions they do not like it too dry, but do not have to be submersed. They can tolerate a lot of water, but need some time of water off the roots from what I see. For example if an area that was free flowing water gets blocked the trees will decline and eventually die. This happens along roads where the streams get blocked and the water backs up.

dk

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/7/2011 at 2:31 PM, Mandrew968 said:

If it doesn't have all of its requirements met, then it is painfully slow. South Florida can rarely meet all of these, so for us, it is not anywhere near a "fast" palm...

That's a subjective, and somewhat limiting statement. To quote one of our international members (Verena) in Germany, who grows many exotic palms indoors:

"The fascination of my experiment is the high-speed-growth within such a short time."

The point, Andrew, is that the international aspect of this forum offers up a great way of determining how "fast" and "slow" can be categorized. "Speed of growth" is the direct comparison between any given number of species in different environments, not how performance is affected by environmental factors in any one location.

[amazondk]

  On 11/6/2011 at 5:46 AM, hanapalms said:

How fast does this palm grow? Does it need as much water as C. renda? More?

Here are some old er pictures of mine of some mauritas growing along the roadside out of Manaus. As you can see water certainly does not hurt them. I have never seen the same place with the purple vegetation again. It was a great sight though. I have never posted this exact picture, but have posted another one with a broader landscape view.

And, here are some in a drier setting, but still in area with moister soil. I thi8nk that the C. renda and the Mauritia grow in similar conditions. Although the Mauritia is probably a little more cold tolerant.

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:00 PM, amazondk said:

  On 11/4/2011 at 7:42 PM, John in Andalucia said:

I'm really pleased to have found these in the local supermarket - at $1.15 a pack, who wouldn't be?

Paul, I haven't tried them yet. I'm keeping them in the fridge until just before I leave for Spain in 3 weeks. Only then, will I devour the fruit! On second thoughts, only then - will my GF devour them! Aguaje is a wonder-female-hormone fruit in Latin America, known for its plethora of healing properties, as well as promoting, "firm breasts and large buttocks" in Amazonian women all over S. America.

For the facts and more, here's a translated blog all about: Aguaje

The plan is for my GF to ship me these on a regular basis. She gets to eat the fruit, I sell the seeds, and the next time we meet (she's not coming to Spain this time around) I'll be an even happier man! How can I lose!

John,

I was not aware of the Mauritias had a wonder female hormone. I thought it was from eating a lot of river fish. Although the trees grow all over the place in Brazilian amazonia it is not a fruit consumed on any large scale. In fact around these parts the only thing you will find is a drink, like aça (sometimes)i, ice creame and frozen fruit bars. The frozen fruit bars are real good. You never see the fruit for sale here. You can make a flour or meal out of them as well. They are a favorite food source for parrots though. I was noticing this morning that a lot of trees are started have ripe fruit. I have posted a lot of Mauritia photos in threads in the past. They are one of the most beautiful of our local palm trees right along with the Euterpe precatoria.

As far as growing conditions they do not like it too dry, but do not have to be submersed. They can tolerate a lot of water, but need some time of water off the roots from what I see. For example if an area that was free flowing water gets blocked the trees will decline and eventually die. This happens along roads where the streams get blocked and the water backs up.

dk

Don, I've bookmarked some of those threads. Your photo of the "purple water" Mauritia grove in Jeff's thread was outstanding, and worth a link: http://www.palmtalk....ndpost&p=440441

Aguaje consumption in Peru is not high either, very much an exotic fruit. The supermarket where I bought mine only carried the one packet. In Peru, just about every native fruit, vegetable, and herb proffers some kind of physical enhancement or miracle cure.

[amazondk]

John,

There is an experimental program in a town near Manaus to produce Mauritia flour. It is a very healthy food and would make great additions to food products. Since the tree is found in such an abundance a market for this fruit would create income for many people. Hopefully this will happen. Most palm fruits are loaded with healthy substances. Until a few years ago açai was only a locally consumed fruit in Amazonia. And, today it is consumed on a large scale abroad. This has benefited many people in the process. And, that is important.

dk

[redant]

Here is mine, been in the ground 2 years, the two worst winters in FL in a long time and this puppy just powers on through. Planted in thick wet sand that is always wet or flooded after it rains. It seems to be "walking" towards the river with each new frond coming from the side towards the river.

Edited November 7, 2011 by redant

[Mandrew968]

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:01 PM, John in Andalucia said:

  On 11/7/2011 at 2:31 PM, Mandrew968 said:

If it doesn't have all of its requirements met, then it is painfully slow. South Florida can rarely meet all of these, so for us, it is not anywhere near a "fast" palm...

That's a subjective, and somewhat limiting statement. To quote one of our international members (Verena) in Germany, who grows many exotic palms indoors:

"The fascination of my experiment is the high-speed-growth within such a short time."

The point, Andrew, is that the international aspect of this forum offers up a great way of determining how "fast" and "slow" can be categorized. "Speed of growth" is the direct comparison between any given number of species in different environments, not how performance is affected by environmental factors in any one location.

The only two places I have seen this palm, locally, are at Montgomery Botanical Center, and at Jeff Searle's garden(his is very impressive!). Both Mr. Searle and Laurie(the palm curator at MBC) told me they are anything but fast--very interesting to see both one in Jupiter and to hear it is not a snail!

John, I find a palm can be either slow or fast, depending on how much it likes where it is; My miraguama, in the shade, is much slower than my other two, in the sun...

[Really full garden]

I live in the tropics and consider this palm to be slow.Last month we had 50 inches and our total for 2010 was 236 inches.It does not get much wetter than that.I have deep volcanic soil so there is no standing bwater.The soil is always damp but not soggy.

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:46 PM, Mandrew968 said:

John, I find a palm can be either slow or fast, depending on how much it likes where it is; My miraguama, in the shade, is much slower than my other two, in the sun...

True, but that only highlights what I said. Maybe I was splitting hairs, since you only inferred that Mauritia has the capacity to be a slow palm, whereas I prefer to consider speed of growth across the spectrum. There are so many factors that can slow a palm down, and some of those reflect the experience of the grower. Thus, it wouldn't be fair on the palm to imply that it was a "painfully slow" species. Straight off, that would make me think of a Pseudophoenix.

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:21 PM, amazondk said:

John,

There is an experimental program in a town near Manaus to produce Mauritia flour. It is a very healthy food and would make great additions to food products. Since the tree is found in such an abundance a market for this fruit would create income for many people. Hopefully this will happen. Most palm fruits are loaded with healthy substances. Until a few years ago açai was only a locally consumed fruit in Amazonia. And, today it is consumed on a large scale abroad. This has benefited many people in the process. And, that is important.

dk

Totally agree, Don. I'd like to see a sub-forum for palm fruits. Discussing their uses and benefits could open up a world of interest, not solely for palm growers. Dare I say, it might bring out the nutritionalists and homoeopaths among us?

Redant, I like your palm satire. What an image you conjure up! A very nice specimen too.

[Mandrew968]

  On 11/7/2011 at 4:11 PM, John in Andalucia said:

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:46 PM, Mandrew968 said:

John, I find a palm can be either slow or fast, depending on how much it likes where it is; My miraguama, in the shade, is much slower than my other two, in the sun...

True, but that only highlights what I said. Maybe I was splitting hairs, since you only inferred that Mauritia has the capacity to be a slow palm, whereas I prefer to consider speed of growth across the spectrum. There are so many factors that can slow a palm down, and some of those reflect the experience of the grower. Thus, it wouldn't be fair on the palm to imply that it was a "painfully slow" species. Straight off, that would make me think of a Pseudophoenix.

20 years to start trunking is slow, in my book!

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/7/2011 at 4:16 PM, Mandrew968 said:

  On 11/7/2011 at 4:11 PM, John in Andalucia said:

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:46 PM, Mandrew968 said:

John, I find a palm can be either slow or fast, depending on how much it likes where it is; My miraguama, in the shade, is much slower than my other two, in the sun...

True, but that only highlights what I said. Maybe I was splitting hairs, since you only inferred that Mauritia has the capacity to be a slow palm, whereas I prefer to consider speed of growth across the spectrum. There are so many factors that can slow a palm down, and some of those reflect the experience of the grower. Thus, it wouldn't be fair on the palm to imply that it was a "painfully slow" species. Straight off, that would make me think of a Pseudophoenix.

20 years to start trunking is slow, in my book!

Ah, well now your'e talking about acceleration rate!

[redant]

Well I didn’t truly mean the palm was a fast grower, just consistent, even in the winter. It always seems to be in a state of growth pushing a sprear. That palm has been in the ground for 2 years, was about 18 inches tall, now about 6 ft total. not painfully slow but certainly no rocket.

[Mandrew968]

  On 11/7/2011 at 4:20 PM, John in Andalucia said:

  On 11/7/2011 at 4:16 PM, Mandrew968 said:

  On 11/7/2011 at 4:11 PM, John in Andalucia said:

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:46 PM, Mandrew968 said:

John, I find a palm can be either slow or fast, depending on how much it likes where it is; My miraguama, in the shade, is much slower than my other two, in the sun...

True, but that only highlights what I said. Maybe I was splitting hairs, since you only inferred that Mauritia has the capacity to be a slow palm, whereas I prefer to consider speed of growth across the spectrum. There are so many factors that can slow a palm down, and some of those reflect the experience of the grower. Thus, it wouldn't be fair on the palm to imply that it was a "painfully slow" species. Straight off, that would make me think of a Pseudophoenix.

20 years to start trunking is slow, in my book!

Ah, well now your'e talking about acceleration rate!

Now we're talking semantics!

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/7/2011 at 4:22 PM, redant said:

Well I didn't truly mean the palm was a fast grower, just consistent, even in the winter. It always seems to be in a state of growth pushing a sprear. That palm has been in the ground for 2 years, was about 18 inches tall, now about 6 ft total. not painfully slow but certainly no rocket.

Thanks redant, for your valuable input. Anyone else with a Mauritia flexuosa, please feel free to wade in with your growing experiences.

[paulgila]

someone send me some so i can taste it!

[John in Andalucia]

  On 11/9/2011 at 6:05 PM, paulgila said:

someone send me some so i can taste it!

Paul, try Tropilab (link) as they can do the phyto thing.

Short of painting them white and passing them off as golf balls, I can't see how I could possibly send you any of mine!

[amazondk]

  On 11/9/2011 at 6:05 PM, paulgila said:

someone send me some so i can taste it!

Paul,

To eat the fruit you peel the skin off and them basically chew on the film of fruit over the large seed. There is not a lot of meat on the fruit. The best way to consume the fruit is really by mashing the meat off and squeezing it into a thick liquid and drinking it like a smoothy. This is very similar to açai.

dk

[hanapalms]

Oh, that makes me feel much better. I love this palm and I'm trying to grow it for the second time; I lost the first one while it was still in a pot. Yesterday, I put my second one in the ground, in a spot where rainwater will flow to it. I hope it grows for me this time.

  On 11/7/2011 at 3:12 PM, amazondk said:

  On 11/6/2011 at 5:46 AM, hanapalms said:

How fast does this palm grow? Does it need as much water as C. renda? More?

Here are some old er pictures of mine of some mauritas growing along the roadside out of Manaus. As you can see water certainly does not hurt them. I have never seen the same place with the purple vegetation again. It was a great sight though. I have never posted this exact picture, but have posted another one with a broader landscape view.

And, here are some in a drier setting, but still in area with moister soil. I thi8nk that the C. renda and the Mauritia grow in similar conditions. Although the Mauritia is probably a little more cold tolerant.

[Jeff Searle]

This palm loves water,water,water,water. And did I mention, more water! One of the highlights of the PostTour from Costa Rica, we flew down to Peru. We enjoyed a very, memoriable boat ride on Lake Sandaval, where we witnessed hundreds,if not thousands of these growing all along the lake's shore. Hundreds were growing in many feet of water.

I was told many years ago that this palm was very cold sensitive for south Florida, therefore you never saw them. BS!!! This palm will take anything our winters will throw at them. My large one ( approx. 12') at the nursery went through 30-32 degrees without a blemish of damage. I really wish we would see more of them.

Jeff

[realarch]

Scott, 236" (5994mm) is just incredible. We get about 135" ( 3302mm) and that's quite enough.

William, I think it will do well for you in the ground if it gets enough water.

I planted one from a 12" deep 4" liner back in May and it's done pretty well so far. All of the greenhouse stretched leaves are gone and the new ones

are nice and thick and the trunk is getting beefier too. I know I will be long gone before this thing gets of any size, but after seeing them in the Amazon

it's nice to have one in the yard.

Right after planting.

A few days ago

[aussiearoids]

There are a few planted around here , well established now , with a couple managing to set fruit .

[brodklop]

Tim that looks amazing.......... well grown

[Cindy Adair]

That's a great looking tree!

I got 3 seedlings awhile back and planted them overlooking water, but in full shade. Two were simply not there when we next visited our farm. In fact, we thought all were gone until a year later when we found one survived as shown in this recent photo.

We were able to find only one more tree and planted it in much more sun. It did okay until a tree fell on it and crushed it as we discovered earlier this month.

I haven't given up so hope to try again since I see Floribunda will offer them soon.

[amazondk]

Those trees look great. I am sure with your water that they will grow well. As to sending palm seeds Paul is correct that I have not been very good at that. There a few reasons for that. But, I surely could have sent something. It is sort of a pain here to do that as you have to be prepared with legislation in hand to argure with customs at the post office that palm seeds are not controlled by the federal environmental agency IBAMA. As Manaus is a fee port all letters and packages leaving the city are subject to customs inspecton and the routnely x ray packages and stop them. I had a major problem with this a few years ago. When you take the package to the post office they open it and look what is inside before posting. So, it is sort of hard to say it is not seeds when they are looking at them. Here in Amazonia there have been a lot of cases of bio piracy as over the past few years and the authorities sometimes try to make issues. Anyway there are some ripe seeds over at my country place and I will see what I can do to get some and go through the hurdles to send them.

dk

[John in Andalucia]

I wish I had something to show, but alas, I decided to germinate my seeds over the winter instead of waiting for spring. My girlfriend did better with the 2 baggies I left her, and one of them is now potted up.

Well, I get to do it all again (two years on) as I'm going back to Peru this September. Gina quit her job recently, so we'll have time to travel to a few places. First stop after meeting up at Lima will be Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon. Stay tuned. The palm bug is coming home!

[Really full garden]

I planted four large ones that I had grown from seed. I planted them in my new highland garden and they have all died one by one.I cannot imagine what is happening.My climate is very similar to upland Hawaii .Maybe it is just too cool??? My last one is a pathetic anemic lime green.It has had everything I can give it too thrive. My soil is deep black loam with a nice leaf mulch. All my other palms grow incredibly well. It is in prime palm realestate and I have been thinking of putting it out of its misery and planting a very large lipstick in its place.

[Jeff Searle]

  On 5/2/2013 at 9:35 PM, John in Andalucia said:

I wish I had something to show, but alas, I decided to germinate my seeds over the winter instead of waiting for spring. My girlfriend did better with the 2 baggies I left her, and one of them is now potted up.

Well, I get to do it all again (two years on) as I'm going back to Peru this September. Gina quit her job recently, so we'll have time to travel to a few places. First stop after meeting up at Lima will be Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon. Stay tuned. The palm bug is coming home!

John,

Andrea and I spent some time a few years back during the Costa Rica biennial down in Peru. We actually went to Puerto Maldonado as well. We went out one day by boat on Lake Sandoval and saw literally thousands of Mauritia palms growing all along the shore of the lake. It was pretty impressive.

[John in Andalucia]

Jeff, how did you get to the lake, by road or along the river first? Can't wait, personally. Those stands of Mauritia are going to leave an impression!