What do we residents of mid-latitude know about palm trees and their fruits? In our stores there are dates (already in the form of dried fruits) and coconuts. We call the latter nuts, although they are not. Botanists attribute coconuts to berries. Thus, this fruit is closer to watermelon than to hazelnuts, despite its hard shell. But there are other fruits of palm trees, in addition to coconut and dates. And also edible. What kind? We will talk about them in this article. And, by the way, bananas do not grow on palm trees, but are the fruits of perennial grass. These are such tropical wonders.
Coconut palm
When the Portuguese first saw the berries of this tree, they had no doubt that it was a nut. A delicious, fleshy core, hidden under a hard-wood-like shell, caught their attention. For the “shaggy” hairs on the fetus, the Portuguese christened it “coco” - “monkey”. And so it happened: in English, overseas berry was called coconut. And the name was literally translated into Russian: coconut. Scientists consider Malaysia to be the birthplace of the berry, from where the fruits, excellently kept afloat, spread by sea currents throughout the tropical region. Why is the coconut palm called the universal nurse? Yes, because wood is a valuable material. Its leaves serve as a roof for huts. The fruit of the coconut palm at different stages of ripeness gives juice, milk, oil, tasty pulp. The farm uses even a hard shell "nut". Various products are made from it.
Coconut palm fruit: universal “breadwinner”
“Hairy Nuts” form the basis of the welfare of many Pacific people. When they are less than five months old, coconut juice is inside them. It is sweet and sour in taste and perfectly quenches thirst. Juice contains a lot of nutrients. As it ripens, drops of vegetable fat appear in this fluid . Juice turns into milk. This fragrant, sweet emulsion is widely used in cooking, cosmetology and traditional medicine. The milk is left to “sour” - it turns out something like sour cream. They make oil out of it. During the period of maximum maturity, when the mass of the coconut palm fruit reaches one and a half to two kilograms, flesh is formed inside the shell. It is scraped off the walls and a lot of delicious dishes are prepared from it. It can be stored in dried form for years. This is the coconut flake that we use to sprinkle on cakes.
Date palm
This short tree is scientifically called Phoenix. The palm began to be cultivated in ancient times - in Mesopotamia, in the 4th millennium BC. In various regions, it produces hybrids, and not always with edible fruits. What we are used to eating is the dried palm fruit Phoenix dactylifera. This is a squat shrub with cirrus leaves, which are metamorphosed into sharp thorns on the base. The fruits of the date palm are very high in calories (220-280 kcal per hundred grams). In addition, when dried, they can be stored and transported for a long time. In India, from the local species of palm trees Phoenix silvestris make "tari" - sweet wine. But the date of Robelin from Laos, which gives black fruits, is grown as an ornamental houseplant. In Europe, the Canary Islands grows Phoenix canariensis Chabaud. This tall - up to 15 meters - tree gives small amber fruits.
Peach palm
The birthplace of this tall - up to 30 meters - tree is the jungle of the Amazon basin. Local Native American tribes have long cultivated this plant, since not only the fruits of palm trees are edible, but also the stem cleared of bark. Leaves were used for roofing huts. The scientific name of the palm is Bactris gasipaes, and the popular name is “peach,” because of the round pink-orange fruits. They taste, of course, different from Mediterranean fruits. They hang in long clusters of hundreds. The fruit has a thin peel and powdery, sweetish flesh. The stone is large, with a pointed apex. Indians fruits are cooked in salted water for several hours and consumed with sauce as a side dish, as we are potatoes. Local vodka is also made from the pulp. Since it is dry, it is ground and added to flour for various baking. There is only one drawback with a peach palm. Harvesting a rich crop is made difficult by daggers sharp, black and long spikes in the upper part of the trunk.
Seychelles palm
The fruit of the tree with the scientific name Lodoicea maldivica is truly a champion. Ripening, it reaches eighteen kilograms in weight, and its dimensions are impressive - more than a meter in circumference. Local residents can not complain about crop failure. Stable about seventy such weights brings one Seychelles palm. The fruit, however, ripens for six years. But don't wait so long! One year old fruits are eaten. It is at this age that the pulp has the consistency of jelly, because later it hardens and becomes strong, like ivory. This delicacy was previously very much appreciated. Europeans called this "nut" sea coconut (coco de mer) and paid crazy money for it. The fruit of the Seychelles palm was endowed with magical properties and was considered a panacea for all diseases. No less surprising is the tree itself. Unlike coconut palms, Seychelles stand unbendingly in a gale-force wind like stone columns. And they begin to bear fruit only after reaching the age of one hundred years. When it rains, under the crown of the Seychelles palm tree you can hide, as under the most reliable roof. The leaves of the tree form grooves-water catchers. Streams of rain roll down to the cuttings at the trunk and then along it to the roots.
Ginger palm
The name of the tree speaks for itself. But now the taste of gingerbread is not the fruits of palm trees, and fibrous mealy husk. Although the poor are fed by dry clusters. This palm tree has one feature that distinguishes it from others. A tree can have three to four branches. Each of them ends with fan-shaped leaves, among which flowers appear. Not all of them turn into fruits, because ginger palm trees come in different genders. Only females give people clusters of brilliant beautiful light brown fruits. In South Egypt, this tree is called particularly poetic - "palm doom."
Acai
The birthplace of the tree is the north of Brazil, the modern state of Para. Acai palm fruits are small, round, up to one and a half centimeters in diameter. Like figs, berries come in two varieties: greenish and dark purple. They taste like raspberries or blackberries with a touch of walnut. But this does not distinguish acai fruits from other berries of palm trees.
They contain the same amount of protein as in cow's milk. In total, 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. At the same time, very low cholesterol. Acai palm fruits are recommended for athletes to use, as they promote muscle regeneration and are also prescribed for anemic patients. They are consumed both fresh and heat-treated. Liqueurs and wines are made from fruits, and salads are made from kidneys.
Serenoa
This tree from Southeast Asia has other names. Most often it is called a dwarf or creeping palm. The tree brings berries 2-3 cm in size. Outwardly, the fruits of a creeping palm tree are similar to large olives. Serena berries are very healthy.
They contain carotene, which helps improve visual acuity. The extract from the berries of this plant is used to treat acne and as a natural sunscreen. Residents of those regions where serena grows eat fresh dwarf palm trees, considering them the strongest aphrodisiac.