Fruit trees we are looking for
L'awara
Astrocaryum vulgare is a species of palms of the subfamily Arecoideae of the tribe Cocosea subtribe of Bactridinae.
A. vulgare appears to originate from northwestern South America. It was very anciently cultivated by Amerindians in French Guiana. It grows in clumps in high savannahs or in coastal forest on healthy, preferably sandy soil. The presence of A. vulgare in a remote location on the coast generally indicates an old disappeared village.
ASTROCARYUM VULGARE - AWARRA.
Common names: Awarra, awara, tecuma, aiara, tecum, aoeara, murumuru, cumari, tucaman palm, palm fiber.
Family: Arecaeae (Palmae).
Overview :
Awarra is one of the medium-sized palms of the Amazon rainforest, reaching up to 50 feet tall. This tree is common in the savannahs and plains of Suriname.
The trunk is strongly spiny and even the inflorescences are covered with a thorny spathe.
Awara fruits grow in bunches about 11 feet long on the tree; the weight of a single package is about 100 pounds.
The yellow-orange fruit (the size of a chicken egg) is an excellent source of carotenoids with a very high concentration of ß-carotene (precursor of vitamin A).
It is also an important source of vitamin B2 (riboflavin).
The oil extracted from the pulp contains saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids. It is rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9. As it is a good moisturizer, it is used in cosmetics in moisturizing creams for skin, lotions and damaged hair products.
The fruit contains edible oil with a vitamin A content of 50 000 IU per 100 grams of pulp; It's 3 times higher than the carrot!
Because of this fact, Awarra can be used against xerophthalmia eye disease (also called ophthalmoxerosis) whose vitamin A deficiency is the main reason.
This is a severe eye disorder, which results from night blindness; it causes the closure of the cornea and finally the rupture of the eyes. It can be consumed raw or enter the making of the famous "bouillon d'awara" which holds a large place in the tradition Guyanese.
The fruit also contains carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
The hard black seed is round and contains a hard white substance from which is extracted the awara butter or "quinoquio", fine dietary fat.
These seeds can take more than a year to germinate!
From the leaves of the plant, a fiber is extracted and used to make hammocks and baskets. This fiber is resistant to rotting and damage and was used on sailboats in previous centuries.
By incision of spadices before flowering, we collect a sweet sap that gives the palm wine by fermentation. The heart of the palm is also a very good edible
In traditional Suriname medicine, awarra is used for skin applications.
It helps moisturize the skin and soothe the scalp and also gives a natural glow to damaged hair.
The tucum ring:
The seed in the fruit is used especially by the indigenous people of Amazonia to make black rings. In the 1800s, this ring was used as a wedding symbol for slaves and natives, who could not afford to buy gold. In addition, the ring was also a symbol of friendship and resistance to the established order - freedom fighters. These rings are now worn by Catholic missionaries as a symbol of solidarity with the poor and support in the struggle for equality, social justice and human rights.
Finally, awara wood, black, hard and durable, is used in the construction of Native American villages or boni.