Eating palm hearts. Eg saw palmetto

[Rickybobby]

Hey everyone I’m pretty sure that taking the heart out of a palm Kills it? Including saw palmetto?

[PalmTreeDude]

Eating the heart does kill it. You can eat the hearts of a lot of different palm species, including Sabal palmetto and I believe (don't quote me on this) Saw Palmetto, when they have a good sized trunk. 

[Rickybobby]

I ask because I watched a. Video of a guy in the Florida scrub destroy a saw palmetto and eat the heart saying it will grow back and fast

[Rickybobby]

[GDLWyverex]

5 hours ago, Rickybobby said:

Hey everyone I’m pretty sure that taking the heart out of a palm Kills it? Including saw palmetto?

As saw palmetto is the most used medication to alleviate prostate inflammation problems, That would mean a whole lot of dead palms...

 

Richard

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

I watched Jungle Jay Adventures video and the first thing I have to say is that man needs to invest in a whetstone and learn how to sharpen his machete. After laughing at him flailing around to remove the leaves it turned very pathetic watching him hack away at that trunk. 

Secondly,  he is correct as where he cuts the palm off it will grow back. If he got 8" lower than that it would kill that trunk.  

[Rickybobby]

19 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

I watched Jungle Jay Adventures video and the first thing I have to say is that man needs to invest in a whetstone and learn how to sharpen his machete. After laughing at him flailing around to remove the leaves it turned very pathetic watching him hack away at that trunk. 

Secondly,  he is correct as where he cuts the palm off it will grow back. If he got 8" lower than that it would kill that trunk.  

Crazy funny video eh. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Saw palmettos are clustering palms so you can remove the heart from one stem, which will die, but the rest of the palm lives on. Here in FL the heart of Sabal palmetto is called "swamp cabbage" and is edible. A local community holds a "Swamp Cabbage Festival" every summer and kills off a bunch of Sabals to cook up the hearts. And, no, I've never tried swamp cabbage. The idea of slaughtering 100s of the State Tree makes me lose my appetite.

[Josue Diaz]

I've tried washingtonia hearts - they're very tasty. They have a slight nuttiness to them, and they are very succulent and crunchy. Sometimes, I'll let a few volunteer washingtonia seedlings live on for a couple of years, then when they start picking up some size, I harvest the center and remove the rest of the palm. To answer your question, eating the heart of the palm does indeed kill it. I could imagine that in a scenario like what the 'surivor guy' is doing, where he's yanking on a spear until it tears away from the meristem, he may be leaving the meristem intact, which means the plant continues to live on, as opposed to mechanically opening up the palm and harvesting the meristem which is what happens with sabals in that horrible ritual @PalmatierMeg described... 

[Manalto]

Is there a palm heart considered to be more delicious than others?

Edited September 25, 2018 by Manalto

[PalmatierMeg]

20 minutes ago, Manalto said:

Is there a palm heart considered to be more delicious than others?

Yes. I'm told Sabal palmetto hearts taste good. And in Central/South America, clustering Euterpes are harvested and canned for consumption so whole palms are not killed. I do believe some palm hearts are considered edible but not flavorful but don't have examples right off. The species Deckenia nobilis hearts are used in what is called "millionaire's salad" because they are not common (this is a solitary palm). I wouldn't touch them because a beautiful palm dies to make that salad. On Madagascar, some species of Dypsis are endangered because people cut them down to harvest palm hearts.

[Rickybobby]

Awesome feedback so at the end of the day. Is what this dude did going to kill the Palm or is he lying that it will flourish 

 

[Rickybobby]

My serenoa repens has the the main trunk and 2 off shoots. So he eats the main one and relies on the others to live?

[PalmatierMeg]

10 hours ago, Rickybobby said:

My serenoa repens has the the main trunk and 2 off shoots. So he eats the main one and relies on the others to live?

Yes, basically.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Again I will say " he is correct as where he cuts the palm off it will grow back. If he got 8" lower than that it would kill that trunk." 

This is no different than when you see people chop the top of their palm after a very cold winter.  The guy in that video doesn't go far enough down to kill the plant.  It isn't good for the plant, but that alone will not kill it.