Açaí palm

Euterpe
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Liliopsida
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Euterpe
Binomial name
	Euterpe oleracea;

The Açaí palm (Assai palm) is a type of palm tree. There are seven different types of Açaí palms.^[1]^[2] The tree grows in Central and South America. It has a black-purple fruit about the size of a grape called a euterpe. The seed inside is very big. The fruit grows in bunches of 700 to 900 fruits.

The palms are mainly used for two things: First, salads called palmitos (heart of palm) can be made from the leaves; for this, the tree needs to be cut down. Secondly, the fruits can be made into a fruit juice that is said to be very healthy.

Images

The fruits on a market, in Belem
A typical serving of açaí juice
Açaí berries in a bowl

References

↑ "Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families". Archived from the original on 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
↑ "Euterpe oleracea". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

Other websites

Pictures of Açaí palms trees and fruit Archived 2006-01-17 at the Wayback Machine from an article by The Nature Conservancy.
University of Florida study confirms that açaí berries contain antioxidants that destroyed cultured human cancer cells Archived 2014-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
Jewelry made from Açaí seeds Archived 2009-09-03 at the Wayback Machine

This short article about biology can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[1] "Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families". Archived from the original on 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2016-12-12.

[2] "Euterpe oleracea". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

[1]

[2]