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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Jubaea chilensis''
| status = VU
| status_system = iucn2.3
| image = Jubaea chilensis Hyères gross.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Arecales]]
| familia = [[Arecaceae]]
| genus = '''''Jubaea'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]
| species = '''''J. chilensis'''''
| binomial = ''Jubaea chilensis''
| binomial_authority = ([[Juan Ignacio Molina|Molina]]) [[Henri Ernest Baillon|Baill.]]
}}

'''''Jubaea chilensis''''' ('''Chilean Wine Palm''') is the sole living species in the genus '''''Jubaea''''' in the palm family [[Arecaceae]]. It is native to southwestern [[South America]], where it is [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to a small area of central [[Chile]], between 32°S and 35°S in southern [[Coquimbo Region|Coquimbo]], [[Valparaíso Region|Valparaíso]], [[Santiago Metropolitan Region|Santiago]], [[O'Higgins Region|O'Higgins]] and northern [[Maule Region|Maule]] regions. It was long assumed that the [[extinct]] palm tree of [[Easter Island]] belonged to this genus too, but it is somewhat more distinct and now placed in its own genus, ''[[Paschalococos]]''.

It is a very impressive palm reaching heights of 25 m with a massive trunk up to 1.3 m diameter at the base, often thicker higher up, and with smooth bark. The [[leaf|leaves]] are pinnate, 3-5 m long. The largest indoor plant in the world is the Jubaea chilensis at [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Kew]], England.

It needs mild winters, but will tolerate frosts down to about −15 °C, making it one of the [[hardy palms|hardiest]] of pinnate-leaved palms; it will also tolerate relatively cool summers. In the wild, the tree lives almost exclusively on the steep slopes of ravines.


The common name refers to the past use of the sap from the trunk of this palm to produce a fermented beverage. Unlike most other [[palm wine]]s, collecting the sap requires cutting down the tree, one reason why this species is now uncommon in the wild. The tree is now protected in Chile to prevent indiscriminate harvesting. The sap is also boiled down into a syrup and sold locally as "Miel de Palma", or Palm Honey. They also produce small round fruits that are about 2-3cm in diameter. The fruit has a very hard outer shell and has a whiteish meat on the inside. The fresh nuts are normally sold in the areas where the palms grow during the fruiting season.

[[image:Jubaea chilensis-inclinada.JPG|thumb|240px|Chilean Wine Palm, Botanic Garden, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile]]

==References==
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=González|year=1998|id=38586|title=Jubaea chilensis|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Listed as Vulnerable (VU A1cd v2.3)

==External links==
*[http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/MEMBGNewsletter/Volume5number4/Thechileanwinepalm.html The Chilean Wine Palm]
*[http://www.chileanpalms.cl/ Chilean Palm Tree Association]
*[http://www.chilebosque.cl/tree/jchil.html Chilebosque: ''Jubaea chilensis'']
*[http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Jubaea/chilensis.html Palm & Cycad Society of Australia: ''Jubaea chilensis'']
*[http://www.scanpalm.no/jubaea_english.html Cultivation in northern Europe]

[[Category:Palms]]
[[Category:Trees of Chile]]
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