Pindo palm

Tens of thousands of hectares of butiá palms in the east – their golden fruit is made into jams and “caña con butiá” liqueur.

Butia odorata is a short, stocky palm growing to 4–8 m, with grey-green, arching, pinnate leaves. Yellow or orange cherry-sized fruits ripen in clusters; they are sweet-and-sour and aromatic. It grows on damp grasslands and sandy plains near the coast, where it forms extensive, savanna-like groves. The fruit is eaten raw, made into jams, juices and ice cream, or steeped in cane spirit, and the leaves are woven into handicrafts.

Significance in the country

The palmares (palm groves) of the department of Rocha are among the largest concentrations of this palm in the world; because cattle eat the seedlings, many of them consist of very old palms, which makes protecting them a challenge for the whole region.

Where it grows

Mainly in the east of the country – in the great palmares near Castillos and San Luis in the department of Rocha, and also in Treinta y Tres and Maldonado.

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