This lets producers lower costs by harvesting several stems from a plant while avoiding the death of the palm.
Harvesting and eating heart of palm is traditional in the cultures of Southeast Asia and South and Central America, pre-dating the colonial era.
[8] A 2000 case study in the journal Biotropica proposed that Euterpe edulis could be sustainably grown and harvested.
[9] Today, commercially available palmito in South America is typically derived from wild Euterpe oleracea and cultivated Bactris gasipaes.
[10] Cultivation has also spread to South Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world, utilizing native palms like Ravenea madagascariensis, Phoenix canariensis, Lodoicea maldivica, and Borassus aethiopum, among others.
[7] Based on a 1987 article, peach palms were previously shown to have stretched out from Bolivia to Honduras as well as the Amazon River into Central America, however recent studies into their conservation have estimated that their geographical distribution actually extends into the Caribbean and other continents.
[1] When harvesting the cultivated young palm, the tree is cut down, and the bark is removed, leaving layers of white fibers around the center core.
It is mentioned that this palm reaches full maturation within 8–10 years and that the complete removal of the heart requires the ruination of the entire plant.