Wine Palm

Wine Palm - Butia Capitata The Wine Palm is native to Brazil and Uruguay. It is the hardiest feather-like palm in the world, it tolerates -10 degrees c and is also drought and wind resistant. The fruit is edible and tastes delicious like a combination of wine and jelly, almost alcoholic, unfortunately the rats and other pests also enjoy this fruit. The palm has a stout trunk with arching fronds of a greenish, blue-grey colour. There is brittleness in the fronds if they are bent too much, and lower dead fronds need cutting off. The palm grows to 4.5 metres in height and somewhat slow growing. Male and female flowers are on the same plant (Monoecious). The Wine Palm will hybridize with Cocos and Jubaea Chilensis, producing attractive offspring, which are sterile (mule palms). It likes sunny frontiers and is a good palm for Melbourne, Canberra and Western Sydney.  This palm is monecious having both sexes on the one plant, so you only need one palm to bare fruit. This palm has small serrations (spikes) on the fronds, which require some care when moving or lifting but are not dangerous.