Açaí palm

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.

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

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

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.

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