Juçara palm

I only have three of these juçara palms (Euterpe edulis) left in my collection at Bosque Santa Lúcia. They are cousins to açaí, which I have presented in earlier posts. Juçara was the source of hearts of palm up until the demise of the Atlantic Forest in recent decades. I say "demise" because the forest, once the size of the Amazon, has been reduced to approximately 5% of its original area. Gone juçara, enter açaí, native of the waterways of the Amazon. Not only do the palms produce excellent hearts of palm, they also produce fruit from which the açaí juice is made.