HEART PALM

The Heart Palm (Euterpe oleracea) is perhaps the most commercially valuable palm. Its "heart" is a white portion of the stem above the main trunk and below the leaves. This is harvested as "heart of palm" and can be eaten raw or cooked in salads. Local people fell the tree and allow the heart to be colonized by larvae or grubs of the palm beetle (Rhynchophorus palmarum) which are then eaten as a much-prized delicacy.