Butia capitata - Wine Palm

Butia capitata (synonym odorata), also known as the Wine Palm, Apricot Palm, Lacquer Tree, or Vinegar Palm, is a medium-sized ornamental palm tree. It is not very demanding on soil type, and can be cultivated in open ground in all regions spared from severe frost. This species, similar to the postcard coconut tree, also develops long pinnate, gracefully arched leaves. Its beautiful grey-green to blue-green leaves, are often folded down to the ground, forming a beautiful rustling cascade in the wind around its massive trunk. Unlike its famous cousin, it can withstand short periods of frost down to -12° C (10.4° F), even when very young. In South America, it is cultivated for its delicious fruits, which are used to make the famous palm wine. They follow a spectacular flowering, in yellow, red, or violet tones, fragrant, on mature plants.

A shrubby plant of the Arecaceae family, highly appreciated as an ornamental and fruit-bearing plant, Butia capitata is, along with Jubaea chilensis, one of the only coconut trees resistant enough to cold for our gardens. It is native to Southern Brazil and Uruguay. It is found growing in low-altitude areas, sort of savannas in the central region of Brazil, on generally sandy and poor soil. A young specimen will develop quite slowly during the first five years, then the growth accelerates. The plant, described as unicaule, produces only one rough trunk called a stipe, stout in appearance, grey in colour, and not exceeding 5 m to 6 m (16.4 to 19.7 ft) in height but reaching 50 cm (19.7 in) in diameter at an advanced age. In subjects aged ten to twenty years and older, the bases of the petioles remain attached, forming a very particular pattern. The trunk carries a dense crown of leaves, 4 m to 5 m (13.1 ft to 16.4 ft) wide, composed of 20 to 35 pinnate leaves, measuring 2 m (6.6 ft) in length and strongly arched towards the ground. Their colour varies from grey-green to blue-green. Each leaf is carried by a light green petiole, 50 cm (19.7 in) to over 1 m (3.3 ft) long, armed with curved and filamentous spines, which should be handled with caution.

Flowering occurs in summer, on plants aged 10 to 15 years, every year. Butia capitata produces inflorescences measuring up to 1 m (3.3 ft), composed of male and female flowers. They are fragrant and grouped in threes on large clusters, with each female flower generally framed by 2 male flowers. Their colour varies from yellow to red, to purple-violet. After pollination, the female flowers transform into fleshy fruits, ovoid in shape, red-orange in colour, 3 cm (1.2 in) long and slightly pointed at the end. The pulp is fibrous but juicy, with a flavour somewhat similar to pineapple, plum, or mango. These fruits are quite rich in vitamin C and are used locally to make delicious jellies, palm wine, or to flavour punches. The ovoid or triangular seeds vary from 1.5 cm to 2.5 cm (0.6 in to 1 in) in length and from 1 cm  to 1.4 cm (0.4 in to 0.6 in) in diameter. The fruit clusters can weigh more than 30 kilograms. Each fruit contains a very hard-shelled seed, a sort of tiny coconut, on which 3 characteristic pores of coconut fruits can be distinguished. The sprout emerges from one of these pores; it is even possible for 2 palms to emerge from the same seed.

This Apricot Palm, along with Trachycarpus fortunei and Jubaea chilensis, is one of the easiest to acclimatise in slightly cooler regions. In open ground, it can be placed in isolation in the company of banana trees or yuccas, in an exotic-inspired setting. But this drought-resistant species reveals its full potential in a Mediterranean-style garden, accompanied by Cycas or Duprez Cypress (Cupressus dupreziana), a true Saharan relic almost extinct in its native Tassili des Ajjers. It can be planted in groups of 3 specimens, surrounded by a carpet of thyme, a sowing of California Poppies, or a bed of Felicia. A contemporary garden could plant it above a tide of white pebbles.