The nation of Florida is awash with palm trees ( Arecaceae ) , but most people do n’t hump that the fruit from ribbon Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree has keep generations of people animated and fed for 100 .
How Palm Fruit Has Shaped Florida’s History
stretch out from the Panhandle , where cold - intrepid palm thrive in USDA hardiness zone 6b , to the tropic climate of the Florida Keys , Florida ribbon trees have withstand hurricanes , tornados and other inclement conditions while still producing comestible or useable fruit .
The fruit from decoration trees draw out beyond the kitchen buttery and includes fibre derived from the fruit , oil color and pharmacy - grade medicine to supplemental medicinal drug . The palm Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree berries are called drupes and vary in size and shape .
The cocoanut is the secondly enceinte stone fruit in the plant life kingdom , according toCocofina . If one falls on your capitulum while you are walk underneath a coconut medallion ( Cocos nucifera ) , not only will you be intimate about it , the combat injury from a 4 - pound anvil drop from around 25 feet can be life - threatening .
Florida ’s tropic climate is abode to numerous yield - bearing laurel wreath tree , and commercial harvest of that palm tree yield is a multimillion - dollar business . coconut conduce the way in commercial-grade enterprise , but the sharp berry from a pindo palm ( Butia capitata ) , grown best in USDA hardiness zones 8 to 9 , bring forth orangish drupes that make a lemony but refreshing jelly . Also , the saw palmetto ( Serenoa repens ) , much loved by bee , is a valued food source for animals and birds .
The Orange Fruit of Pindo Palm Trees
cluster of orange berries emerge from pindo palm in Florida during the summertime and into the winter . The berries have thin skin and are sinewy .
Many who appreciate the orange drupe nurse out the succus and discard the rest of the berry , according toSpecialty Produce . Tasting like a combination of apricot , Ananas comosus and vanilla , the berries are eaten impertinent , used for jellies and syrups or fermented for wine .
Tip
Large commercialisation has n’t embraced the pindo thenar . The products of its fruits can be found in local farmers grocery store and local vendors in Florida .
The pindo palm is a frigid - hardy palm tree and can tolerate temperatures dropping to a chilly 10 ° degree Fahrenheit . At the same time , they are extremely rut liberal , a atavism to their origination in Brazil . Vitamins A and century are two derivatives sourced from the pindo palm berry .
Commercialization of the Coconut Palm
Coconut farm are found all over the earthly concern , and Florida is no exclusion . A casual walk through a park reveals the abundance of wild coconuts constellate just under the fronds at the top of the tree diagram .
illiberal of inhuman atmospheric condition , the coconut medal are subject matter living in USDA zone 10a and the coastal regions of zona 10b . The tropics provide the heat and piddle they necessitate for growth .
The flesh of the coconut tree is experience as the copra and is used to give rise coconut petroleum , a multimillion - clam industry allot toPepe ’s plant . The coconut itself provide a ordered dieting for many citizenry , while the fibrous parts are reworked into a grow medium for other plants . Just lop off the destruction of a coconut , slip a straw into the nitty-gritty and sip the refreshing coconut Milk River . When finish , use a hammer to crack the coconut into pieces and enjoy the pulp .
Saw Palmetto: From Berries to Sperm Boosters
The saw palmetto has long been a staple food and music for Native Americans in the southeastern United States . It grow in the wild in Florida and also add to individual landscape gardening designs . Cold hardy and resistant to fire and drought , the palm develop good in USDA hardiness zones 6 to 10 .
extract from the saw palmetto ’s berry have long been look at an alternate treatment for prostate cancer , although the American Cancer Society disavows the claim . That does n’t stop the saw palmetto supplement from being prominent in the supplement gangway .
Adding to the saw palmetto myth is the fact that in the early 1900s , urinary pathway problems in man were treat with the infusion , and it was also purportedly used to increase sperm yield and encouragement libido . Mount Sinairesearchers in New York believe that the berries move testosterone levels and have an anti - inflammatory upshot on the prostate gland .
Bees that prey off the nectar of the saw palmetto flowers produce honey , a democratic commodity .
Warning
Gardening Solutionsadvises that you do not harvest the saw palmetto berry unless you have a Native Plant Harvesting Permit issued through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services ( FDACS ) Division of Plant Industry ( DPI ) .
