The chilean palm (Jubaea chilensis), is a species of palm native to Chile belonging to the Arecaceae family. It is commonly known as the Chilean palm, the coquitos palm, the wine palm, the Chilean coconut or the honey palm, among others..
This palm is arboreal in size and can measure up to 30 m in height, while its trunk can reach up to 1.1 m in diameter. The trunk is bare since the marcescent leaves do not adhere to it as occurs in other palm trees..
The leaves of this palm are leathery, 2 to 4 m long and 50 to 60 cm wide, with a short petiole, filamentous and pinnately compound spines, while its leaflets are sessile. The flowers are grouped in cluster-like inflorescences that hang from the axils of the lower leaves..
The fruit is a drupe with an ovoid, conical shape, 4 cm long, yellow, and the seed is spherical, with a smooth texture, and up to 2.5 cm in diameter..
It is a slow-growing palm, it grows in areas of dry, shrubby vegetation and sandy soils. It is distributed from 0 to 1400 meters above sea level. It can withstand down to -20 ° C. It is a species protected by the laws in Chile due to threats to its survival such as climate change, livestock, deforestation, forest fires, invasive species, among others..
Its seeds are used as fodder, to make toys and to prepare various dishes. This palm is also used to produce honey and make wine. Its leaves were used to build roofs for sheds and the flower beds were used to store flour and water for chickens..
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It is an arboreal palm that measures up to 30 m high, develops a trunk of about 80 cm to 1.1 m wide, with a cylindrical shape, straight and columnar posture. Unlike other palms, the trunk of the Chilean palm does not remain with marcescent leaves attached to it, but is bare.
The thickness of the stem is less at the top than at the bottom, the bark is gray, thin and covered with rhombus-shaped scars left by the falling leaves.
This palm is a perennial species. It produces numerous leaves that are grouped at the apex of the trunk, measuring 2 to 4 m long and 50 to 60 cm wide. Its color is dark green to yellowish, pinnately compound, alternate, sessile and they have 110 to 120 on each side.
Its texture is leathery, they have a short petiole with stiff filaments that resemble spines. The edges are folded or folded towards its base, the rachis is triangular and of a woody and flexible consistency..
The flowers are grouped in cluster-like inflorescences, which grow in the axils of the lower leaves, are surrounded by two spathes of which one is fibrous and membranous, and the other is woody. They are 1.2 m long and shaped like a canoe.
The male flower has three narrow, external sepals that are 2 to 3 mm long, three internal tepals with an ovate-oblong shape, obtuse edges, and 8 to 9 mm long and 4 to 5 mm wide..
Sample of 14 to 22 stamens, they are arranged in two series and are as long as the tepals.
The female flower is longer than the male. It has external tepals with an oval shape, they are 8 mm long; internal ones are 10mm long and 20mm wide.
The ovary is supero, solitary, trilocular, tricarpellar, and erect.
The fruit of the Chilean palm is a drupe with an ovoid, conical shape that measures 4 cm in length, yellow in color, and the perigonium is brown or brown..
The seed of this palm is spherical, with a smooth texture, measuring up to 2.5 cm in diameter. It has three germ pores of elliptical or circular shape in the upper part of this.
-Kingdom: Plantae
-Phylum: Tracheophyta
-Class: Liliopsida
-Order: Arecales
-Family: Arecaceae
-Gender: Jubaea
-Species: Jubaea chilensis (Molina) Baill.
The Chilean palm is the only species of the genus Jubaea. It is also scientifically known as Cocos chilensis, Jubaea spectabilis, Micrococos chilensis, Molinaea micrococos, Palma chilensis.
The Chilean palm populations are considered a living fossil, and its forests are among the southernmost in the world. This species is one of the most scientifically valuable in terms of the native flora of Chile, and it is taken as a reference to characterize the vegetation of the Valparaíso coast..
Jubaea chilensis it is a native species of the Mediterranean zone in Chile. Currently, this palm is threatened because its habitat has been greatly affected and therefore its regeneration and establishment of new plants has been hindered..
In Chile, this palm is located between Coquimbo and Maule. However, the most significant areas occupied by this species are in Ocoa, Siete Hermanas and Cocalán.
The palm groves of Ocoa and Cocalán have a degree of protection and management that favors effective conservation to ensure the regeneration of this species according to the environmental threats it receives..
It is distributed in an altitudinal range from 0 to 1400 meters above sea level. It grows in well-drained, sandy or sandy loam soils. Regarding the first years of life of this plant, a nurse effect has been identified by the sclerophyllous vegetation that accompanies this species to be able to establish itself in a specific place until at least the formation of the stipe ends (from 12 to 14 years).
Different researchers have located the Chilean palm as a species associated with sclerophyllous and spiny forests, especially the Mediterranean sclerophyllous forest of the coast of Cryptocarya alba Y Peumos boldus. It is also achieved together with hawthorn or boldo in areas of slopes, and in places near estuaries it is associated with lingue, patagua or canelo.
The Chilean palm has been affected throughout its history. Currently, the incidence of prolonged periods of drought together with climate change has mainly caused water shortages and an increase in forest fires. This has led to a decrease in the areas occupied by this arecaceae..
The cattle present in the distribution areas of this palm directly threaten its growth by the herbivory of the seedlings, thus preventing its establishment..
The use of water for the consumption of the inhabitants, either for domestic use or irrigation water, has reduced the availability of this resource for the palm. For this reason, this water stress indirectly affects the palm, since the nurse species under which it must be protected in the first years of life are affected..
The constant increase in temperature, the reduction of the period of cool seasons, little rainfall, among others, has affected the populations of Jubaea chilensis since it has been subjected to periods of very frequent droughts.
An effect derived from the previous point is the occurrence of forest fires with greater frequency. In this sense, fire affects the plants, the soil and the habitat in general for the regeneration of that palm and the species associated with it..
Man has for many years extracted this palm in an uncontrolled way, which has caused a decrease in the germplasm that ensures the persistence of this species..
One of the biggest problems is the extraction of seeds due to the high value of the Chilean palm coquito at an international level, especially in Asia. Specimens have even been taken from protected areas for this species.
In this sense, and to understand the impact of this threat, about 200 people can collect in two months (within a period of one year) about 23 tons of coquitos, to sell them for approximately $ 4000 per kilogram..
Animals like the invading rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus have directly affected the survival of seedlings of this palm. In fact, 70% of mortality in this phase of the plant is caused by the action of these herbivores.
On the other hand, the blackberry is a plant that competes in the regeneration phase of native plant species since it occupies humid areas and clearings of the forest caused by anthropic action..
The proximity of the natural location of this palm to places with a lot of population or urban planning has been an unfavorable factor because, for residential use, there is a high demand for land, and of course the closest to these populations.
Deforestation is a problem caused directly by the increase in population expansion, and for the exploitation and production of palm honey. This has produced a decrease in the natural regeneration of this palm and the mortality of juvenile individuals due to damage to the apical meristem..
The Chilean palm is used for the production of honey, as well as to extract the seed, since it has a high commercial value at the international level.
Regarding its culinary use, the coquito (seeds) is extracted for popular consumption and preparation of various dishes of the gastronomy. Coquitos also have high nutritional value and are used as fodder. In addition, wine is obtained from the sap.
The branches were used to build shed roofs. In addition, the coquitos are used to make toys such as cuspes, which are made with a stick inserted into the coquito, a hemp is wrapped around it and attached to a piece of wood with cross-shaped holes..
Also, the spathe that surrounds the inflorescence is used to store the roasted flour when it falls from the grinding stone, and also to water the chickens. Certainly, these uses date back to when everything was handmade and plastic did not exist..
The Chilean palm requires the direct incidence of the sun when it is adult. However, in the first years of life it grows best in semi-shady conditions..
This species of palm resists down to -20 ° C. Its tolerance to low temperatures makes it a species of particular interest for use in gardening in areas where frosts occur..
In fact, next to Butia, it is a species that is grown in temperate climates for this reason.
This plant adapts to various types of soil. However, it adapts better to deep soils with a large amount of organic matter and good drainage..
It is a species that tolerates drought or little irrigation, but, if abundant irrigation is obtained, it grows vigorously.
However, at the beginning of its development it is highly sensitive to excess moisture in the soil, so care must be taken to choose a soil with very good drainage..
It is normally multiplied by seeds. To do this, the coquitos must be hydrated for three days, replacing the water every 12 hours approximately.
The coquitos are planted in sandy soil 10 cm away from the surface, and should be located in a temperate place. The duration of germination is about 7 or 8 months, but can be up to 18 months in natural conditions.
This palm is mainly affected during its juvenile phase by fungi and the attack of some insects..
At the roots, these palms can be affected by nematodes. Although they do not cause damage to the root, it discourages the commercial transfer of this species since the soil that surrounds the root must be disinfected in order to be exported..
The foliage of the Chilean palm is affected by insect larvae, which feed on the leaves at the apex of the plant and cause the ends of the leaves to dry out..
Other pests that affect this palm are shells. These are small worms that feed on the sap of the leaves and produce a yellowish color in the pineapples. The species of shells that attacks this palm is called Asterolecanium sp.
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