Traditional uses of five Amazon palms

1. Açaí (Euterpe oleracea): native to the Amazon, with fine stipes that form clumps. It can grow up to 20m in height. Its leaves are large and feather-shaped. The fruits are small, round, and dark purple. They contain a single seed and are grouped in hanging bunches.

In the hands of Amazonians, nothing is wasted from the açaí. The fruits become drink, pulp, and dye; the stem, palm heart and building material; the fronds, roofing and handicraft; the seeds, bio-jewelry and fertilizer; the inflorescences, brooms; and the roots, herbal medicine. The species is also often used in landscaping.

2. Bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba): is a solitary palm with a tall trunk that can reach up to 22m in height. It has a short and thick palm heart at the apex. The fronds are arranged like a fan at the top. It produces large bunches of round fruit with a dark color when ripe. It has a single seed covered by a fleshy pulp.

Just like the açaí, all the parts are used. The fruit becomes pulp; the seeds are used to extract oil and as animal feed; the leaves are used to cover houses; the stipes are used in construction; the roots become medicines; and the inflorescences are commonly used as brooms. Various parts of the palm are used in handicrafts, such as the fronds and seeds.

3. Miriti (Mauritia flexuosa): is a majestic palm found in the Amazon region and is widely distributed across Brazil, especially in swampy areas. Its fruits are covered with red scales. They float in water, which aids in their dispersion. The main plant, with its fan-shaped fronds, can grow up to 25m in height.

The Mauritia flexuosa species has several popular names, the most common among them being miriti, buriti and muriti. One of the most versatile palms in the world, it is used in the manufacture of toys, bio-jewelry, clothing, and utensils. It is also useful in agriculture, fisheries, civil construction, and medicinal and ceremonial practices. Different parts are used for food (the fruit and palm heart), liquor, fertilizer, and oil, as well as serving as raw material for many products.

4. Inajá (Attalea maripa): found primarily in the Amazon region, a solitary palm commonly growing between 10 and 12 meters tall. The fronds are arranged in a spiral. When they fall, they leave part of the petiole attached to the stipe for a while. The flowers are light yellow in color. The fruits have a thin shell and are fleshy, succulent, yellow, gummy, and oily.

The fruits of the inajá serve as food for humans and animals, as well as for the production of oil and biofuel. The fronds may be used for roofing, rope and making traps for fish. The spathe (modified frond at the base of the inflorescence) is used as a receptacle.

5. Tucumã-do-Amazonas (Astrocaryum tucuma): native to the Amazon region, this is a large palm that can reach up to 25m in height. It has a single trunk and thorns in the form of rings along its extension, as well as at the base of the fronds. The fruits are round and have a thin coat of yellow-orange pulp on the seed.

The fruit of the tucumã is used to make the famous tucumã sandwich, the "x-caboquinho", as well as animal feed and oil. Its seeds may be used in handicrafts, along with its fronds, from which fiber and straw are extracted, while its trunk is used in rural construction.