Edible fruit of palm

What do we, the inhabitants of the middle latitudes, know about palm trees and their fruits? In our stores there are dates (already in the form of dried fruits) and coconuts. The latter we call nuts, although they are not. Botanists refer coconuts to berries. Thus, this fruit is closer to the watermelon than to the hazelnut, despite its hard shell. But there are other fruits of palms, in addition to coconut and dates. And also edible. What kind? We'll talk about them in this article. And, by the way, bananas do not grow on palm trees, but are the fruits of perennial grass. Here are such tropical miracles.

Coconut palm

When the Portuguese first saw the berries of this tree, they had no doubt that this is a nut. A delicious meaty core, hidden under a hard, like a tree, shell, attracted their attention. For "shaggy" hairs on the fruit of the Portuguese dubbed his "coco" - "monkey." And so it was: in English overseas berry began to be called coconut. And the name translated into Russian verbatim: coconut. Homeland berries scientists consider Malaysia, where the fruits, excellent keep afloat, spread by sea currents throughout the tropical region. Why is a coconut palm called a universal wet nurse? Because the tree is a valuable material. Its leaves serve as a roof for huts. The fruit of the coconut palm on different stages of ripeness gives juice, milk, butter, tasty pulp. The farm uses even a hard shell of "nut". Various products are made from it.

Fruit of coconut palm: a universal "breadwinner"

"Hairy nuts" form the basis of the well-being of many residents of the Pacific region. When they are less than five months old, inside of them is coconut juice. It is sour-sweet to the taste and perfectly quenches thirst. The juice contains many nutrients. As the ripening in this liquid, drops of vegetable fat appear . The juice turns into milk. This fragrant, sweet emulsion is widely used in cooking, cosmetology and folk medicine. Molochko leave "sour" - it turns out something like sour cream. Make oil out of it. In the period of maximum maturity, when the mass of the fruit of the coconut palm reaches one and a half to two kilograms, a flesh is formed inside the shell. It is scraped off the walls and prepared from it a lot of delicious dishes. In dried form it can be stored for years. This is the same coconut chips that we use to sprinkle cakes.

Date palm

This low tree carries the scientific name Phoenix. Palma began to be cultivated even in ancient times - in the Mesopotamia, in the IV millennium BC. In different regions it gives hybrids, and not always with edible fruits. What we are accustomed to eating, is the dried fruit of the palm Phoenix dactylifera. It is a squat shrub with pinnate leaves, which on the base are metamorphosed into sharp thorns. The fruits of the date palm are very caloric (220-280 calories per hundred grams). In addition, in the dried form they can be stored and transported for a long time. In India, from the local species of palm Phoenix silvestris produce "tari" - sweet wine. But the date Robelen from Laos, giving black fruit, is grown as a decorative houseplant. In Europe, the Canary Islands grow Phoenix canariensis Chabaud. It is high - up to 15 meters - the tree gives small amber fruits.

Peach palm

The native land of this high - up to 30 meters - of the tree is the jungle of the Amazon basin. Local Indian tribes have long cultivated this plant, since not only the fruits of palm trees are edible, but also the stem removed from the bark. The leaves used for the roof of the huts. The scientific name of the palm tree is Bactris gasipaes, and the popular name is "peach", because of round pink-orange fruits. They taste, of course, different from Mediterranean fruits. They hang long bunches in a hundred pieces. The fruit has a thin skin and mealy sweetish flesh. Bone large, with pointed top. Indians, the fruits are boiled in salted water for several hours and eat with sauce as a side dish, as we are potatoes. Flesh is also made from local vodka. As it is rather dry, it is ground and added to flour for various pastries. There is only one minus the peach palm. Collecting a rich crop is made difficult by sharp, daggers, black and long spikes in the upper part of the trunk.

Seychelles palm

The fruit of a tree with the scientific name Lodoicea maldivica is truly a record holder. Ripening, he reaches eighteen kilograms in weight, and his size is impressive - more than a meter in circumference. Local residents can not complain about a crop failure. Stable about seventy such weights bring one Seychellois palm tree. The fruit, however, matures for six years. But do not wait so long! One-year-old fruit is used for food. It is at this age that the pulp has a consistency of jelly, because later it hardens and becomes strong, like ivory. This delicacy was previously highly valued. Europeans called this "walnut" a sea coconut (coco de-measure) and paid for it with a lot of money. The fruit of the Seychellois palm was endowed with magical properties and was considered a panacea for all diseases. Not less fruit is amazing and the tree itself. Unlike coconut palms, seichels are unbending under the hurricane wind, like stone columns. And they begin to bear fruit only when they reach the age of a hundred years. When it rains, under the crown of a seashell palm you can hide, as under the most reliable roof. The leaves of the tree form grooves-water catch. The streams of the shower roll down to the cuttings near the trunk and then along it to the roots.

Ginger palm

The name of the tree speaks for itself. Only the taste of gingerbread is not the fruits of palms, but the fibrous, powdery husks. Although the poor live on dry clusters. This palm has one feature that distinguishes it from others. A tree can have three or four branches. Each of them ends with fan-shaped leaves, among which there are flowers. Not all of them turn into fruits, because the ginger palm trees are of different sexes. Only women give to people grapes of brilliant beautiful light brown fruits. In South Egypt this tree is called especially poetic - "palm doom".

Asai

The native land of the tree is the north of Brazil, the modern state of Para. The fruits of the Asai palms are small, round, up to one and a half centimeters in diameter. Like figs, berries come in two varieties: greenish and dark purple. The taste is reminiscent of raspberries or blackberries with a slight shade of walnut. But this does not distinguish the fruits of acai from other berries of palm trees. They contain the same protein as in cow's milk. A handful of small fruits can satisfy the hunger of an adult: the energy value of the product is 182 kcal. High in them and the content of iron, vitamins B and E. This is a very low level of cholesterol. The fruits of the acai palm are recommended for athletes, as they contribute to the regeneration of the musculature, and also prescribe them anemic patients. In food are used as fresh, and subjected to heat treatment. From fruits make liqueurs and wines, and from kidneys - salads.

Serenoa

This tree from Southeast Asia has other names. Most often it is called a dwarf or creeping palm. The tree brings berries in size of 2-3 centimeters. Externally, the fruits of the palm are creeping like large olives. Serena berries are very useful. They contain carotene, which helps improve visual acuity. The extract from berries of this plant is used to treat acne and as a natural sunscreen. Residents of those regions where sereno grows, eat the fruits of dwarf palm in fresh form, considering them to be the strongest aphrodisiac.