Description
cohune palm
Attalea cohune, commonly known as the cohune palm (also rain tree, American oil palm, corozo palm or manaca palm),is a species of palm tree native to Mexico and parts of Central America.
The cohune palm is used in the production of cohune oil.
General Information
Cohune nut is a massive but very slow-growing, single-stemmed, evergreen palm that can eventually grow more than 20 metres tall. The unbranched stem can be 30 – 60cm in diameter; it is topped by a crown of extremely long leaves that can be up to 10 metres long. These leaves, combined with a bole that can reach 15 metres, results in a rather impressive plant
The fruit of wild trees is harvested commercially and used to make an oil that is of local importance. This is a handsome and majestic feather palm that is often grown as an ornamental
Known Hazards
None known
Range
S. America – Colombia, through Central America to Mexico.
Habitat
Cultivation Details
A plant of the hot, wet, lowland tropics[
it can also be grown in a warm spot in the subtropics Plants grow best where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 1,500 – 3,000mm, and can tolerate 1,000 – 5,000mm Mature and established plants have been reported to tolerate temperatures down to -4 to -5°c, losing 10 – 100% of their foliage but recovering during warmer months[
Even young trees can be grown in full sun
Plants are very resistant to wind damage
Prefers a pH in the range 5 – 7, but can tolerate 4.5 – 7.5
A very slow-growing plant
Plants are not tolerant of forest fires, the mortality either being the result of direct damage or indirect damage such as increased pathogen access through the fire damaged bark
Plants can flower all year round
The fruiting panicles are very large and heavy, pendent, often containing 800 – 1,000 fruits, each fruit about 6cm long, and resembling a small coconuT
Edible Uses
Seed – raw or cooked
About the size of a hen’s egg, when fresh it is said to resemble coconut
The seed has a hard, heavy shell that is difficult to crack
The ellipsoid fruit, which is about 6cm long, is produced in large clusters
A non-drying oil used for cooking can be extracted from the seed[
Fruit – raw
It can be used to make sweetmeats
Very young shoots are used as a vegetable.
The heart of the palm, located in the last four feet of the trunk before the base of the leaf stems, is considered a delicacy
It can be cut pieces and eaten raw
Eating the heart (apical bud) leads to the eventual death of the tree since it is unable to make side shoots
Inner bark – cooked
Tough and fibrous
A survival food, used when nothing better is available[
A kind of wine is sometimes made from the sap[
A cavity about 30cm square is cut in the cabbage, screened in various manners, and left for about a week, during which time the sap collects and ferments
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The leaves are used for thatching
The plant is commonly used to make huts and temporary shelters[
The stout midribs of the leaves are used to form the framework, whilst the leaves, placed crosswise so that their segments form a dense thatch, are used to make the roofs
Such buildings are substantial and durable
Segments of the large leaves are used by the Indians of Alta Verapaz for making the suyacales – large mats that protect their clothing and loads from the rains
During the rainy season an Indian with a rolled-up suyacal (if it is not raining) is almost as characteristic of Alta Verapaz as the Britisher with his rolled umbrella is of England
Young leaves are used to make hats
The dried inflorescence is used as broom
A valuable non-drying oil obtained from the seed is used as an illuminant and in making soap
The nuts are very hard and difficult to crush, which makes extracting the oil more difficult
The hard seed shells have been used in the preparation of charcoal for gas masks[331].
Seed –
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