Butia capitata

[happypalms]

A tough palm the capitata I was looking for some seeds in my neighbourhood and found a few immature ones I will keep an eye on these ones to collect them being cold tolerant  it’s a palm I get asked for now and then so i thought I might as  well grow a couple for those cold places in my area that get cold.

[Brucer]

Dont plant them anywhere near cows. They love them, along with Livistona australia and chinensis.

[happypalms]

  On 6/22/2024 at 5:36 AM, Brucer said:

Dont plant them anywhere near cows. They love them, along with Livistona australia and chinensis.

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Sounds like you’re speaking from experience there Brucer point noted 😁

[Harry’s Palms]

So those are the true Capitata. I had bought a Butia over 25 years ago and it was labeled Bonetti . It was a seedling and even then there was uncertainty around it. I just figured it was a different type of Capitata due to its silver blue color which showed up about 5-6 years after I planted it. Now I am told that most of the Butia that were in the US are Oderata . They are quite a bit larger than what you have and in the case of the one I have , silver. Most of them are lighter green . I can see a distinct difference in yours . I don’t think I’ve seen one around here. HarryButia Oderata , silver 

[Harry’s Palms]

I forgot to mention , to me the fruit tasted like apricot when I sampled it. There used to be a Syagrus planted fairly close to it and I think it pollinated the Butia , the squirrels loved the fruit , once they found out. I have since removed the Syagrus so I don’t have any fruit now. Harry

[Fusca]

The true capitata is supposedly rare in cultivation and its habitat is in the tropics rather than the cooler subtropics.  Decades ago Butia "capitata" was the name used (and is still common in the nursery trade today) but the name included the tropical population from central Brasil and the subtropic population from extreme southern Brasil.  More research was done on the two distinct populations and those from the subtropics were renamed "odorata".  These palms are larger, more cold hardy and have spherical seeds.  The tropical palms stay smaller, have elongated seeds shaped more like an American football and kept the name "capitata".  This old photo below from Palmpedia shows the two seeds listed as the old "capitata" from the two populations - the round spherical seed coming from what is now odorata.  I believe Butia caterinensis palms look very similar to odorata but have smaller elongated seeds about 1/3 the size of the true capitata.

https://palmpedia.net/wiki/Butia_capitata_(True)

[Harry’s Palms]

@Fusca thank you for the clarification. The palms that Happypalms posted look much different than mine . Harry

[happypalms]

  On 6/22/2024 at 4:21 PM, Fusca said:

The true capitata is supposedly rare in cultivation and its habitat is in the tropics rather than the cooler subtropics.  Decades ago Butia "capitata" was the name used (and is still common in the nursery trade today) but the name included the tropical population from central Brasil and the subtropic population from extreme southern Brasil.  More research was done on the two distinct populations and those from the subtropics were renamed "odorata".  These palms are larger, more cold hardy and have spherical seeds.  The tropical palms stay smaller, have elongated seeds shaped more like an American football and kept the name "capitata".  This old photo below from Palmpedia shows the two seeds listed as the old "capitata" from the two populations - the round spherical seed coming from what is now odorata.  I believe Butia caterinensis palms look very similar to odorata but have smaller elongated seeds about 1/3 the size of the true capitata.

https://palmpedia.net/wiki/Butia_capitata_(True)

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Thanks fusca in Australia they were just simply sold as capitata around 30 plus years ago when a palm was just a palm not like today when if hasn’t got a name we won’t buy I did manage to collect a few seeds from the ground and they look similar to capitata as Harry said thanks for the information.

Richard 

[happypalms]

  On 6/22/2024 at 12:45 PM, Harry’s Palms said:

So those are the true Capitata. I had bought a Butia over 25 years ago and it was labeled Bonetti . It was a seedling and even then there was uncertainty around it. I just figured it was a different type of Capitata due to its silver blue color which showed up about 5-6 years after I planted it. Now I am told that most of the Butia that were in the US are Oderata . They are quite a bit larger than what you have and in the case of the one I have , silver. Most of them are lighter green . I can see a distinct difference in yours . I don’t think I’ve seen one around here. HarryButia Oderata , silver 

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That’s a beauty Harry you have there I have 4 around my garden and one looks different being more green than silver blue but that could be a sunlight shade thing as the green one is in the shade it’s anyone’s guess but they do make good jam the fruits.

Richard 

[Fishinsteeg234]

My neighbor has a nice silver specimen I see peering over my pool fence area, I glance at it daily. In full sunlight it’s almost blue some days . Butia odorata I believe it is. Very common here in north orlando area. I don’t have any planted in my yard, but get to enjoy this one on the regular. This one was probably planted back in the late 70’s or early 80’s when these neighborhoods were developed, if I were to guess.

[Tyrone]

Like any fruit tree, if you regularly water them and give them good nutrient supplements the fruit gets large and juicy and very sweet. Here they grow like weeds, and the fruit is very tasty. However I’ve tried some drought ravaged fruit and the acidity is up there with a lemon. 

[happypalms]

  On 6/22/2024 at 11:01 PM, Fishinsteeg234 said:

My neighbor has a nice silver specimen I see peering over my pool fence area, I glance at it daily. In full sunlight it’s almost blue some days . Butia odorata I believe it is. Very common here in north orlando area. I don’t have any planted in my yard, but get to enjoy this one on the regular. This one was probably planted back in the late 70’s or early 80’s when these neighborhoods were developed, if I were to guess.

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Nice palm to have as a neighbour plus you don’t have to maintain it even better they where very popular being grown in the early days of the palm garden plants to have very common in nurseries but not as much now today.

[happypalms]

  On 6/23/2024 at 12:58 AM, Tyrone said:

Like any fruit tree, if you regularly water them and give them good nutrient supplements the fruit gets large and juicy and very sweet. Here they grow like weeds, and the fruit is very tasty. However I’ve tried some drought ravaged fruit and the acidity is up there with a lemon. 

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I will have to make some jam next seed harvest I get sour like a Davidson plum hey or the Brazilian cherry.