BP1B: name_key = butia-eriospatha upc = name_key = butia-eriospatha QUERY = SELECT * FROM upc_36 WHERE name_key = :name_key LIMIT 1 Record found = TRUE
Butia eriospatha
woolly jelly palm
Steadily growing, modest-size palm bears unusual blue to blue-green recurved leaves. Stronger form than B. odorata, even more cold-hardy.
height
12–20ft
width
10–15ft
tolerates
Cold, Cool Summers, Drought, Wind
water needs
Low – Moderate
water info
This palm should be watered deeply every week or two once it’s established. It doesn’t want to ever dry out completely.
hardy to
13F
exposure
Full Shade – Full Sun
indoor outdoor
Outdoor
drainage
In Ground: Cactus Mix, In Pots: Cactus Mix, Tolerates Sandy Soil
fertilizing
Palm Fertilizer
origin
S Brazil
california native
No
sunset zones
5–9, 14–H1
Sunset Zones Map
Outdoor Exposure Guide
Growing Notes
Prune off older leaves as they decline, cutting the leaf petiole as close to the trunk as possible.Reputed to be faster growing than other cultivated Butia species.This species originates from higher altitudes (700 meters to 1200 meters above sea level) in southern Brazil (Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul states) and promises to be even more tolerant of cool summers than the more common B. odorata.
Special Interest
While this Butia looks similar to odorata (capitata) it is distinguished by the more architectural, symmetrical fronds, and characteristic fuzzy flower spathes; this is the reason it was given the species name eriospatha (erio meaning wool and spatha describing the swordlike shape of the structure that encloses and protects the palm’s developing flowers).
Like Butia odorata, the fruit is edible and can be tasty, if fibrous.
More Info
Our plants come from the current owners of the East Bay garden established by the late Inge Hoffmann, the “Seed Lady” who distributed thousands of palm seeds around the world from the 1980s into the 2000s, first for the International Palm Society Seed Bank, and then through her own business.
