Mauritia vinifera Mart.
Mauritia flexuosa, known as the moriche palm, ité palm, ita, buriti, or aguaje (Peru), is a palm tree. It grows in and near swamps and other wet areas in tropical South America.
It is an elegant tree which can reach up to 35 metres in height. The large leaves form a rounded crown. The flowers are yellowish, and appear from December to April. The fruit, which grows from December to June, is a chestnut colour and is covered with shiny scales. The yellow flesh covers a hard, oval, nut. The seeds float, and this is the means by which the palm tree propagates. In natural populations the tree reaches very high densities.
Read more about Moriche Palm: Fruit, Ecology, Miscellaneous
Famous quotes containing the word palm:
“The oft-repeated Roman story is written in still legible characters in every quarter of the Old World, and but today, perchance, a new coin is dug up whose inscription repeats and confirms their fame. Some “Judæa Capta,” with a woman mourning under a palm tree, with silent argument and demonstration confirms the pages of history.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)