This popular, hardy, feather-leaved palm has recently been separated from Butia capitata to clear up a very old taxonomic mess. This palm is native to southern Brazil and Uruguay and is widely cultivated around the world, usually under the name B. capitata. It is a large, robust plant with recurved, strongly keeled, blue green leaves, a stout trunk and deliciously edible, yellow fruit with round or slightly elongated seeds. The true B. capitata is a plant from the highland of central Brazil in the sates of Bahia, Goias and Minas Gerais. It is a much smaller plant, has larger, spindle-shaped seeds and is virtually unknown in cultivation. Butia odorata will succeed in all but the coldest temperate and warm temperate climates, but does not like tropical climates. One of the few truly hardy feather palms, it will tolerate extremely low temperatures when older.
It produces bright orange fruit, called pindo dates in the US, and as Jelly is made from these it accounts for the common European name,'Jelly Palm'. Although the fruit is supposed to be delicious, there seems little evidence of it being grown commercially as a fruiting palm. The flowers are numerous, very small, creamy yellow and are borne on 3-4 feet long inflorescences bearing separate male and female flowers. Pollination is by wind and insects.
The 1" yellow to orange fruits are round or oval shaped, and hang in large bunches. Each fruit contains a single large seed which looks like a tiny Coconut, with the characteristic 3 pores at one end. The sweet, but tart, flavour is a mixture of apricot, pineapple and banana. Fruits are harvested as they ripen, or if the whole bunch is harvested they tend to ripen all at once. They can be eaten fresh or puree'd, and make excellent jelly as well as wine. They can be stored for about a week refrigerated.
Cold hardy to about 10 degrees for short periods of time.