Butia purpurascens

Geoff Stein - Author & Editor

Pronunciation: BOO-tee-uh purr-purr-ASS-enz


Common Name: none

Butia purpurascens is still a very rare palm for California, but as more of these lesser known Butias slowly enter cultivation, it is a certainty they will also be growing in California gardens. At this point (2015) there are no known adult Butia purpurascens in California but undoubtedly there will in the next 10 or so years. This is not one of the dwarf species, but it relatively small for a Butia growing only up to 12' tall in its native northeastern Brazil. It is a greenish palm with unarmed petioles but otherwise has a very similar appearance to most of the other acaulescent Butias.

Appearance and Biology
  • Habit: Solitary with a crown of 10-20 feather leaves
  • Height: 10' estimate
  • Trunk: single; 8" thick; tends to have a clean trunk, covered with leaf scars; upper trunk covered with fiber and retained, un-split leaf bases
  • Crownshaft: none
  • Spread: 8'
  • Leaf Description: pinnate; markedly recurved, nearly reaching back to trunk; medium green; 4'-6' long; leaflets very fine and stiff, pointing upwards and held in a narrow 'V' shape along the rachis
  • Petiole/Leaf bases: 1' long; unarmed; pale green; leaf bases un-split and retained, at least for months to a few years
  • Reproduction: monoecious
  • Inflorescence: peduncular and highly branched
  • Fruit: 1" long; ovoid; purple to brown when ripe
Horticultural Characteristics
  • Minimum Temp: 22F estimate
  • Drought Tolerance: moderate
  • Dry Heat Tolerance: good
  • Wind Tolerance: good
  • Salt Tolerance: unknown
  • Growth Rate: very slow to slow with age
  • Soil Preference: adaptable
  • Light Requirement: full sun
  • Human Hazards: none
  • Disease or Horticultural Problems: none so far
  • Transplants?: good
  • Indoor?: unknown
  • Availability: very rare but occasionally available as seed


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