Açaí palm fruit

The açaí fruit in different stages of development: At the bottom of the image are the mature fruit, which are dark purple in color. The pulp of the fruit is used to make a traditional drink in this State of Pará, also called açaí. Belém is the capital of the açaí world but there are a number of vendors around Santarém too. The juice has caught on in the big cities of Brazil as a "health food" and more recently our favorite palm fruit has made its way to the United States, especially in the State of California. In the middle of the image are the green fruit and at the top are the seeds after removing the pulp.