The bocaiúva (Acrocomia aculeata), also known as macaúba and various other names in neighboring South American countries, is a palm whose height may vary from 10 to 15 meters and 20 to 30 cm in diameter. It requires high soil fertility and moisture. It has a characteristic thorn-covered stalk and produces round fruits 2.5 to 5 cm in diameter, arranged in clusters of about 40-60 individual fruits. Ripe fruits have thin and brittle shell with a soft and fibrous pulp ranging in color from yellow to dark orange. Inside the flesh is also a large nut. Flowering occurs from April to June and the fruits ripen from October to January, with an average yield of 80 kg fruit per tree per year. The fruit must be harvested while hanging, or, if fallen they must be collected quickly, so as not to spoil. The fruits can be consumed raw in the form of pulp or as flour used in the preparation of many dishes. The internal nut is also consumed. The tree is deeply linked with the area’s food culture, and still today the Terena ethnic group, widely distributed in Mato Grosso do Sul, also uses the palm tree as a source of food. The pulp of the fruit, the nut and oil are the main products used.
Flour made from bocaiúva has a high protein content, a significant energy value and high concentration of carbohydrates, especially compared with other fruits of the Cerrado. Another important element in the nutritional composition of bocaiúva flour is the high content of beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, giving the product high potential for use in supplemental feeding programs. From an ecological standpoint, bocaiúva is also important as food source for different species of local wildlife, and additionally establishes itself in blighted areas. In the Pantanal, it is called chiclete pantaneiro, chiclete de bugre, and because it is also enjoyed by livestock, is also called chiclete di boi (“ox gum”).
In Brazil, bocaiúva trees grow in the transition areas between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, from Sao Paulo to Pará, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rio de Janeiro. In the city of Corumbá, the Association of Residents of the Commonwealth of Antonio Maria Coelho has been organized with about 25 employees for the production of flour. Raw fruits are also sold in fairs, horticultural markets and by street vendors. The pulp (used for juice, ice cream and liquor) and bocaiúva flour can be found only locally in some communities of the Pantanal tropical wetland area.
From an environmental point of view, bocaiúva’s risk of extinction is due to urban expansion and large areas of intensive livestock rearing now implemented in the Pantanal. In addition, there is no established process of passing down to other generations the knowledge and importance of bocaiúva as food and how to use it to generate income on the family farm.
Image: www.dodesign-s.com.br
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