Collecting Mauritia flexuosa seeds

[RainForestt Robert]

I am planning another trip to one of our nature reserves where there are quite a few stands of M. flexuosa.  This triggered my mind regarding an article I wrote some time ago.  Here is a link for those who have not read it before.  I hope to have some updated photos in a couple of weeks.

Collecting M. flexuosa seeds

Robert

[PALM MOD]

Bob,

What a great and informative article about a beautiful palm.

[mike453]

Bob,

Thanks for the link, I had not seen it before. I enjoyed reading it, and I hope you are able to post pictures of your upcoming trip.

              Regards, Mike

[amazondk]

Bob,

Nice article you wrote.  We have the Buriti, M. flexuosa growing all around town here.  They are now fruiting and the easy way to collect seeds is to go buy some buriti juice and ask for the seeds that are being thrown in the garbage.  They are perfectly good for germination.  I bought some juice yesterday, it is not as good as açai, but is very good for you.  There have been studies done by the Brazilian agricultural development agency, EMBRAPA about the use of the buriti pulp in making flower.  It is very rich in nutrients.  The topography around Manaus favors the the growth of this tree a lot.  The area is rolling hills and in the low part there is normally water and a lot of M. flexuosa.  We have virtually no mosquitos here in areas where the M. flexuosa grows.  That is due to the acid nature of the water.  We have more mosquitos in town than in the bush.  But, I am always careful where to step as the same can not be said for snakes.  

Thanks again for the article,

Fellow M. flexuosa fan,

dk

[RainForestt Robert]

Don,

Could you tell me how Buriti and acai juice is made?  I think that I would like to give it a try when next I get some seeds!

Robert

[Jeff Searle]

Bob,

   Thanks again, and look forward to some more pictures.

Jeff

[amazondk]

Robert,

The people here use a machine that beats the seeds and extracts the pulp.  The juice, with some fiber is then expelled through the machine and strained.  Then it is ready to consume.  The açai nees to be soaked in warm water for a while, less than 30 miutes before processing.  This softens up the pulp.  This is not used for the Buriti.  You can mash the berries in a big motar and pestal and then strain the juice off as well.  

Here is the process I posted a long time ago on another thread:

[paulgila]

what is the deal with that light blue paint?it seems everytime i see a documentary or photos of someplace tropical there are ALL the houses are that color

[RainForestt Robert]

Thanks Don, I am going to give it a try!!

Robert

[amazondk]

(pohonkelapa @ Dec. 27 2006,17:27)

QUOTE

what is the deal with that light blue paint?it seems everytime i see a documentary or photos of someplace tropical there are ALL the houses are that color

Well I guess it is just taste, what else could it be.  Around here people come up with some real flashy colors, red, orange, purple, and more as well as the green or blue.  Then as you can see in the background there are a lot of places that just aren´t painted and either have only the stucco over brick, or just plain brick.  One thing about the tropics is that they are not pastel.  Here on the equator where the light is very sharp colors tend to be as well.

dk

[amazondk]

Bob,

Do they grow much açai, either Euterpe olearcea or E. precatoria in Trinidade?  The trees would do quite well for sure.  I like açai ice cream as well as the juice.  In reality is is more like a milk shake than juice.  I drink the stuff unsweetened, but most people add sugar.  A lot of people add tapioca as well, that is after the juice is prepared.  The M. flexuosa, buriti is not as tasty as the açai is.  I am sure you have read about the health benefits of açai, it is great for you.  Here they also make a drink with guarana syrup mixed with açai, that is a real energy drink.  I have a plan to start growing açai here, I want to do at least 3 hectares.  That should produce about 30 tons per year of berries. That would be 400 clumps of E. olearcea per hectare.  First I have to get the land though, and hopefully that will happen in the near future.  Not that this is a get rich project, but it should help pay some of the expenses for the property.  Here you can use 20 percent of the land as non forest activities.  I plan on getting around 30 hectares, and using from 5 to 6 hectares for this, and other things, including a palm collection.  The açai plantation seems like a good project.  You can also grow bananas, pineapples or other plants in between the rows.  The palms should be planted every 5 meters.  There are improved varieties of E. olearcea available in the state of Para which start producing in 3 years and also have larger berries.  If no one is doing this in Trinidad yet, it might be something worthwhile looking into.

dk

dk

[RainForestt Robert]

Don,

Palm growing in Trinidad is not the way to make $$.  Everyone has palms in their yards, starting with a coconut tree.  From there the average homeowner moves on to A. merillii, and if lucky P. macarthuri.  Even though Euterpes can be found growing in various parts of the country, they are not utilized for landscaping or for any of their products.  A pity.  I saw a newspaper article recently about the beneifits of acai, thus one of my interests in trying this product.

Land is one of the more difficult things to get your hands on in Trinidad.  At least within a reasonable price range.  Inflation has driven prices up significantly, sometimes tripling within a couple of years.  At the moment I am building a new home, the cost has doubled over the last year.  If I were starting now, I could not afford the same house.  

The present issue of National Geographic covers the Amazon, land grabbing, soya and beef production.  Very interesting.  

Robert

[amazondk]

Robert,

I can understand why land would an issue there as it is an island and that puts on more limitations.  Here what we have is a lot of is land.  Although a lot of it has title problems you can still find good places close to town for a reasonable price.  I am going to sell a 800 m2 lot that I have and use a portion of the proceeds to by a country place.  My lot is worth about 50 to 60 thousand USA, and I can pick up 30 hectares or so within 50 kms of town for around 10 thousand USD.  If you go further than 100 kms out or so you could get 100 hectares for the same price.  The local culture here consumes a large quantity of palm products.   The largest of these are Euterpe, Bactris gasipaes, and of course coconuts.    Most yards have all three planted, along with the normal mangoes, carambolas, and citrus.  The M. flexuosa are in pockets of undeveloped land and not planted for the most part.  But, there are so many of them around town I think that no one even considers them.  The normal large palm planted is the Royal palm.    It grows real well here.  It is interesting that although a lot of açai is consumed in Manaus very little of it is commercially grown near town.  Most of the berries come from plantations maybe up to 200 to 300 kms away and from harvest of wild E. precatoria trees in the forest within the same range.  Over by Belem, Para and on Marajo Island at the mouth of the Amazon tremendous quantities of the trees are planted and they have a very active export trade in concentrate.  I think that the Euterpe is one of the most beautiful palms and aside from making a little money it would be nice to have a whole grove of the palms planted.  The toucans really love the berries. Aside from the Mauritia the Oenocarpus fruits are widely made into a drink as well.  It is a shame that Euterpe is not used in landscaping there, they give such a tropical affect with their gracefull stems and leaves.

Regarding the National Geographic article I imagine it is focuses mostly on the states of Para and Mato Grosso, this is where the big problems are.

[SubTropicRay]

Bob,

I enjoyed that.  Thanks for the link.