Anything else you want to share?
JK: The aguaje palm (Mauritia flexuosa), source
of popular food and supplement products in
North America, originates in the Amazon region.
The fruit on mature aguaje palms is produced
high up in the canopy, and to efficiently (but not
sustainably) harvest it on the naturally occur-
ring aguaje in the rainforest, folks were cutting
the palm trees down. A palm tree that was once
abundant in the rainforest dwindled in numbers.
Sustainable aguaje is possible with orchards, and
when the palms get tall, with some planning, it is
possible for tree climbers to harvest the fruit.
I also wanted to mention copoazu (Theobroma
grandiflorum), a relative of chocolate whose fruit
looks like chocolate but you eat the nut as a roasted
seed with juicy pulp. Copoazu will start to flower at
the end of the second year after planting. Things
grow fast in the Amazon, as moisture's abundant
and the climate allows plants to grow year-round.
Some of the citrus plants that FTPF and partners
planted a year prior already had flowers on them
when we were there in early December, 2019.
www.urban-forestry.com 37
Students from Urco Mirano welcome FTPF volunteers to their community.
