Ita Palm

This elegant tall palm tree is a native to tropical regions of South America. It grows 10 to 30 m tall, with a trunk 30 to 60 cm in diameter and needs good sun. It has 8 to 20 highly incised, 2.5 m long palms. Its reddish fruit somewhat like a chestnut takes different forms, but is usually 5 cm in diameter and 7 cm long. It is covered with shiny scales. The center of the fruit is hard oval shaped seed which is also edible. It is dispersed by the birds while eating the fruit.

A magnificent species of palm (Mauritia flexuosa), growing near the Orinoco.The natives eat its fruit and buds, drink its sap, and make thread and cord from its fiber. The paste of the fruit is used in making alcoholic drinks . The fruit can be made flour also by drying and then grinding it. The oil from the fruit is high in Vitamin A and the juice of the fruit is high in Vitamin C. Because it is good in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, it is used in jams and jellies where Vit A is needed and curing hurts, wounds, burns and scars where Vitamin A is needed. Women weave the leaves of this tree and make the roofs and the stalk is made into fishing rods and carpets too. This all shows how useful the tree is , and the reason why it is called "Tree of Life". Its flowers are yellowish in color and leaves are big and rounded in shape or you can say fan like. Tropical forest birds, large tropical forest like Macaw, like to eat the fruit of Ita Palm and various other animals like  tortoises, agoutis, deer, iguanas and peccaries, eat the fruit when it falls to the ground.

Ita Palm can be used in your face mask too. All you have to do is grind the fruit with any herbal oil that suits your skin , into a fine paste and apply it all over leaving your eye area. Wash it off with normal water in 15-20 min. It is good for the skin because of good Vit. C . It protects from sun as well as makes our skin look more young and healthy. 

(all pictures are sourced from google)