Jubaea

Genus of palms

Jubaea

Conservation status

Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Plantae
Clade:  | Tracheophytes
Clade:  | Angiosperms
Clade:  | Monocots
Clade:  | Commelinids
Order:  | Arecales
Family:  | Arecaceae
Subfamily:  | Arecoideae
Tribe:  | Cocoseae
Subtribe:  | Attaleinae
Genus:  | Jubaea
Kunth
Species:  |

J. chilensis

Binomial name
Jubaea chilensis

(Molina) Baill.

Synonyms[2]

* Cocos chilensis (Molina) Molina
* Jubaea spectabilis Kunth
* Micrococos chilensis (Molina) Phil.
* Molinaea micrococos Bertero

Jubaea is a genus of palms with one species, Jubaea chilensis, commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena[3] in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and is endemic to a small area of central Chile between 32°S and 35°S in southern Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Santiago, O'Higgins, and northern Maule regions.

The extinct palm tree of Easter Island belonged to this genus as well. In 1991, the Easter Island palm was placed in its own genus, Paschalococos.[4] However, this has not been widely accepted.

## Growth

[edit]

In its area of natural distribution, young Jubaeas tend to grow near adult specimens, preferring also sunny and vegetated sites.[5]

The thickest well-documented Jubaea was on the estate of J. Harrison Wright in Riverside, California. Its diameter "at shoulder height" was 1.7 m (66 in).[6] The largest of several specimens at the Adelaide (South Australia) Botanic Garden in 1889 was stated to be 1.8 m (6 ft) thick at the base.[7] A hollow (but living) Jubaea in the Ocoa Valley near La Campana National Park, Chile, is 1.5–1.8 m (4 ft 11 in – 5 ft 11 in) thick at its base, with no apparent taper in the lower trunk.[8] The largest individual specimen of indoor plant in the world was the Jubaea chilensis at Kew Gardens, which was cut off by staff in 2014 because it grew to the top of its greenhouse.[9] Of the more than 2,600 known species of palms, Jubaea chilensis is the second most massive, exceeded only by the floodplain or river bottom variety of Borassus aethiopum.[10] Karsten and Schenck reported a maximum height of 34 m (112 ft) for Jubaea.[11]

## Uses

[edit]

The leaves can be used to weave baskets, and it has edible seeds, widely eaten and known as Coquito nuts. The sap can be used to make palm wine and palm syrup, although unlike other palms which can be tapped, the whole tree has to be felled; this is now restricted by legal protection.[12]

## Conservation

[edit]

The species is partially protected within Chile, although pressures of human population growth and expansion of grazing areas have reduced the population of the Chilean wine palm in recent centuries.[13] The collection of its seed and their predation by common degu may also have a negative impact for the growth of new generations of Jubea.[5] The IUCN Red List considers the palm Endangered.

A recent study concluded that predation of the fruits by humans, the seeds by the exotic rat (Rattus rattus) and the young seedlings by exotic rabbits is leading to seed dispersal collapse of this species, leaving it at risk of extinction in its natural habitat.[14]

* J. chilensis growing in habitat in Palmar El Salto, Viña del Mar, Chile

* J. chilensis growing in habitat in Palmar El Salto, Viña del Mar, Chile

* J. chilensis growing in habitat in Quebrada Rodelillo, Chile

## Taxonomy

[edit]

The species was originally described as Palma chilensis by Chilean botanist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1808.[15] After being moved to other genera including Molinaea, Micrococos and Cocos by other botanists, it was finally placed in the genus Jubaea by French botanist Henri Ernest Baillon in 1895, as J. chilensis (Molina) Baill.[16][17]

Jubaea is named after King Juba II.[18][19][20]

## History

[edit]

Charles Darwin examined these trees on visiting Chile in 1832 on the second voyage of HMS Beagle and noted:

> These palms are, for their family, ugly trees. Their trunk is very large, and of a curious form, being thicker in the middle than at the base or top.[12]

— Charles Darwin

In 1843, a specimen was grown from seed at Kew Gardens, London, England, and was moved into the Temperate House in 1863, eventually growing to 19 metres (62 ft). It was believed to be the world's tallest indoor plant, until it had to be felled in 2013 because it had outgrown the space available and could not be moved. It has been replaced by seedlings from the original tree.[21]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Fruits and nuts

* World-record Jubaea at Kew Gardens, England

* Jubaea chilensis in Leverkusen, Germany

* Jubaea chilensis growing in Goleta, California

* Painting of a Jubaea by Chilean artist Onofre Jarpa

## See also

[edit]

* Dasyphyllum excelsum

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Chaparro, C.B. (2021). "Jubaea chilensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T38586A2880356. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T38586A2880356.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. ^ "Jubaea chilensis (Molina) Baill". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
3. ^ "Ficha de Antecedentes de Especie: Jubaea chilensis (Molina) Baill" (PDF) (in Spanish). Gobierno de Chile. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
4. ^ Zizka, Georg (1991). "Flowering Plants of Easter Island". pp. 64–65. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
5. ^ a b Miranda, Alejandro; Hernández, H. Jaime; Bustamante, Ramiro; Díaz, E. Matías; González, L. Alberto; Altamirano, Adison (2016). "Regeneración natural y patrones de distribución espacial de la palma chilena Jubaea chilensis (Molina) Baillon en los bosques mediterráneos de Chile central" [Natural regeneration and spatial distribution patterns of Chilean palm Jubaea chilensis (Molina) Baillon in Mediterranean forests of Central Chile] (PDF). Gayana. Botánica (in Spanish). 73 (1): 54–63\. doi:10.4067/S0717-66432016000100007.
6. ^ Principes Vol. 1 # 2 (January 1957) p. 57.
7. ^ James H. Veitch, Gardener's Chronicle, Vol. 6 (third series) (October 5, 1889) p. 384.
8. ^ Chris Caradine, "A Day in Ocoa", THE PALM JOURNAL, # 143 (November 1998) p. 20 with photo.
9. ^ "Growingontheedge.net – View topic – Jubaea chilensis". Growingontheedge.net. Archived from the original on 2023-07-23. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
10. ^ Dr. Al C. Carder, GIANT TREES OF WESTERN AMERICA AND THE WORLD, (Madeira Park, British Columbia, Canada: Harbour Publishing, 2005) p. 130.
11. ^ Karsten, Georg; Schenck, Heinrich (1908). Vegetationsbilder - Volume 6. Jena, Germany. p. Plate 47 with text.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
12. ^ a b "Jubaea chilensis – Chilean wine palm". www.kew.org. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
13. ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008
14. ^ Cordero, Sebastián; Gálvez, Francisca; Fontúrbel, Francisco E. (2021). "Multiple Anthropogenic Pressures Lead to Seed Dispersal Collapse of the Southernmost Palm Jubaea chilensis". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9. doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.719566. ISSN 2296-701X.
15. ^ Molina, Giovanni Ignazio; Molina, Giovanni Ignazio; Alsop, Richard; Ercilla y Zúñiga, Alonso de; Hayley, William; Boyd, Henry (1808). The geographical, natural and civil history of Chili. Vol. v.1 (1808). Middletown (Conn.): Printed for I. Riley.
16. ^ "Jubaea chilensis Baill". worldfloraonline.org. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
17. ^ Baillon, H.; Baillon, H. (1895). Histoire des plantes. Vol. v. 13. Paris: Librairie Hachette.
18. ^ Canberra, National Arboretum (2020-07-03). "Forest 26 - Chilean Wine Palm". www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
19. ^ "Chilean wine palm". Temperate House, Kew Gardens. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
20. ^ Briones, Julià Molero; Pereira, Trinidad Arcos; Carrasco, María Dolores García de Paso; Reyes-Betancort, Jorge Alfredo; Santos‐Guerra, Arnoldo; Jestrow, Brett; Francisco‐Ortega, Javier (2025-04-30). "On the Macaronesian endemic woody spurge Euphorbia regis‐jubae Webb & Berthel. and eponyms honouring the Numidian King Juba II (48 BCE –23/24 CE)". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. doi:10.1111/CURT.12623.
21. ^ Otway, Beth (10 May 2018). "Scott Taylor, Temperate House Supervisor". www.pumpkinbeth.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.

## Further reading

[edit]

* C. Donoso (2005) Árboles nativos de Chile. Guía de reconocimiento. Edición 4. Marisa Cuneo Ediciones, Valdivia, Chile. 136p
* González, M. (1998). "Jubaea chilensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T38586A10128158. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T38586A10128158.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021. Listed as Vulnerable (VU A1cd v2.3)
* Information from Encyclopedia of Chilean Flora
* C. Michael Hogan (2008) Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jubaea.

* Jubaea chilensis species profile from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
* Floridata: Jubaea chilensis; description and places in Europe where it has been introduced
* Philip W. Rundel (2002) The Chilean Wine Palm
* Palm & Cycad Society of Australia: Jubaea chilensis

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Arecaceae genera

Baker & Dransfield (2016) taxonomy

Calamoideae|

| Eugeissoneae|

* Eugeissona

|

Lepidocaryeae|

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* Nypa

Coryphoideae|

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* Sabal

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Cryosophileae|

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Caryoteae|

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Corypheae|

* Corypha

Borasseae|

* Bismarckia
* Satranala
* Hyphaene
* Medemia
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* Lodoicea
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Ceroxyloideae|

* Pseudophoenix
* Ceroxylon
* Juania
* Oraniopsis
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Arecoideae|

* Podococcus
* Orania
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| Iriarteeae|

* Iriartella
* Dictyocaryum
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* Wettinia

|

Chamaedoreeae|

* Hyophorbe
* Wendlandiella
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Cocoseae|

* Beccariophoenix
* Jubaeopsis
* Voanioala
* Allagoptera
* Attalea
* Butia
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* Jubaea
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Euterpeae|

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Geonomateae|

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Pelagodoxeae|

* Pelagodoxa
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Areceae|

* Actinorhytis
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* Dictyosperma
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* Iguanura
* Loxococcus
* Rhopaloblaste

Taxon identifiers

Jubaea|

* Wikidata: Q13065504
* Wikispecies: Jubaea
* APNI: 249395
* BOLD: 412067
* CoL: 8VYL6
* EoL: 30212
* EPPO: 1IUBG
* FNA: 116850
* GBIF: 2735137
* GRIN: 6219
* iNaturalist: 123354
* IPNI: 31293-1
* IRMNG: 1059096
* ITIS: 500811
* NCBI: 290259
* NZOR: 49f61481-2341-42b9-8be7-5b1f8e726b7b
* Open Tree of Life: 242458
* PLANTS: JUBAE
* POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:31293-1
* Tropicos: 40033757
* WFO: wfo-4000019635

Cocos chilensis|

* Wikidata: Q38483239
* CoL: WP59
* GRIN: 11031
* IPNI: 666104-1
* POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:666104-1
* Tropicos: 100386321
* WFO: wfo-0000903099

Jubaea chilensis|

* Wikidata: Q290967
* Wikispecies: Jubaea chilensis
* APSA: 13-66-1b
* ARKive: jubaea-chilensis
* BOLD: 412068
* CoL: 3QRGJ
* EoL: 1142626
* EPPO: IUBCH
* EUNIS: 185806
* FNA: 242413467
* GBIF: 2735138
* GRIN: 20718
* iNaturalist: 123353
* IPNI: 131713-2
* IRMNG: 10213911
* ISC: 29269
* ITIS: 506726
* IUCN: 38586
* NCBI: 290260
* NZOR: a071cc90-90a0-4ad9-a023-1064c276d262
* Observation.org: 119006
* Open Tree of Life: 817272
* PfaF: Jubaea chilensis
* Plant List: kew-105170
* PLANTS: JUCH3
* POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:131713-2
* RHS: 9499
* Tropicos: 2401050
* WFO: wfo-0000220212

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