Butia odorata pindo palm, jelly palm

Butia odorata in the Inner Quad. Irene Beardsley, 20 Mar 2003

Strikingly arched, feather-shaped fronds of bluish gray lend a stately mien to this moderate-sized palm. A specimen in the outer southeast circle of the Inner Quad, planted in 1998, stood alone on main campus until 2022, when another was added to the outer northeast circle, replacing an ancient Canary Island date palm. Stanford Redwood City has several on the east side of the recreation center (900 Warrington Avenue), planted in 2020. Ours have not yet been observed producing fruit; ripe ones are fragrant (hence the species name) and toothsome. Both “pindo” (an indigenous name) and “jelly palm” refer to the fruit’s traditional use in preserves.

Crown of Butia odorata, Inner Quad. Irene Beardsley, 20 Mar 2003

First described in 1891 as Cocos odorata and then tentatively considered a variety of Butia capitata, this coastal species has long been cultivated under the name B. capitata in California and elsewhere. Even after consensus of its distinctness as a species and informal adoption of the name B. odorata, repeated attempts to correctly publish that name failed under the finicky rules of botanical nomenclature – until 2011, when it was at last validly established. The true Butia capitata, native to the dry inland plains of central Brazil, tends to be smaller and more compact; with its greener fronds of a less arching habit it is perhaps not as horticulturally intriguing.

Name derivation: Butia – native name; odorata – see text above.