Jubaea chilensis

Jubaea chilensis

Chilean Wine Palm

This slow growing palm, the only extant species of this genus named after Juba II, a Berber king and botanist, can reach up to 50-60' in height and 25' in width. It needs mild winters, but will tolerate frosts down to about −15 °C (5.0 °F) as well as relatively cool summers, making it one of the hardiest of pinnate-leaved palms; this is because it grows up to 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level in its natural habitat. In the wild, the tree lives almost exclusively on the steep slopes of ravines. The base of the trunk can reach 3' in width tapering toward the top. The trunk is smooth and scarred with the leaf patterning. The Chilean Wine Palm prefers full sun with little to no water.

The common name refers to the past use of the sap from the trunk of this palm to produce a fermented beverage. The sap is also boiled down into a syrup and sold locally as mile de palma. The tree also produces small round fruits that are about 2-3 cm (1 inch) in diameter. The fruit has a very hard outer shell and has a whitish meat on the inside.