Chilean Wine Palm, Chile cocopalm

Jubaea chilensis

Physical Characteristics

Jubaea chilensis is an evergreen Tree growing to 12 m (39ft) by 5 m (16ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Distribution

S. America - Chile.

Habitats

Woodland Garden Secondary; Sunny Edge;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit Oil Sap Seed Edible Uses: Oil Sap - raw or cooked. A very sweet taste, it can be used as a refreshing drink[1, 2, 11, 61], concentrated into a syrup or fermented into a wine[183]. The tree is felled and the crown removed, the sap then begins to flow and, providing a thin section of trunk is removed daily, the sap will continue to flow for several months[2]. Yields of over 400 litres of sap can be obtained from a tree[2]. Fruit - candied and used as a sweetmeat[61, 183].The fruit is about 5cm in diameter[200]. Seed - raw or cooked[46, 61]. A pleasant nutty flavour raw[2], they are also used in sweetmeats[183]. The seed is about 5cm in diameter[231]. An edible oil is obtained from the seed[46, 61, 105, 177].

Medicinal Uses

None known

Known Hazards

None known