Butia Capitata, Pindo Palm

The Pindo or Jelly Palm (15 degrees F), has a silver gray colored, feather like frond with an arching habit, one of the more cold hardy palms grown here in South Louisiana zone 8b, and very worthy plant of having on your place. This specimen is ten or fifteen years old, only just beginning to bare mature fruit. As the fibrous fruit ripens, it falls from the tree and emits a very pleasantly fragrant apple peach smell.  Jelly can be made from its mature ripened fruit, but I haven't tried it yet.

Butia Capitata Infloresence

It's growing in a place I don't get around to much. It gets no attention at all, nearly abandoned since I planted it from seed in a three gallon container and transferred to the ground here in highly compacted, acidic, guyton (poorly drained) soil. Nothing is supposed to grow here but Black Tupelo Gum, Bald Cypress, Button Bush, Water Oak, Sweet Gum, but it doesn't seem to know or care. It 's a nice tree,  my girl friend's favorite kind of palm. 

Butia Capitata Green Fruit

I've known of Butia with 8 to 15 foot of trunk height growing near here since I was a young boy, 50 years ago, along with a few Phoenix Canariensis (18 degrees F), and Florida Sabal Palms (15 degrees F). This is about as far north as these trees can be grown, except along the east and west coasts near the warmth of the ocean.

Chances are if one plants a palm tree with a cold tolerance of less than 15 to 18 degrees F here, he will be replanting every 10 years. Two winters ago we had two 15 degree nights back to back each about 10 hours long, and every palm here lost its fronds.

Butia Capitata Ripened Fruit

Some Butia Capitata are more cold hardy than others from the same batch of seeds, as some were affected by the cold more than others. Most trees recovered fully in two summers while some are still recovering. I have fifteen or so Washingtonia Robusta (20 degrees F) fully recovered that are supposed to be toast, duh!

Palms are the hard drugs of the zone 8b garden. Since they're all so sensitive to the cold, a gardener tends to associate and compare the growing habits, form, and requirements of one species with another a little more so than other trees. It's difficult to have just one species, nor speak of one without comparing it to another of similar tolerance.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butia_capitata