Euterpe
(mythological: Euterpe, from euterpes, well-pleasing, was one of the nine Muses). ORD. Palmae. A small genus of about eight species of tall-growing, elegant, unarmed, stove palms, natives of tropical America and the West Indian Islands. Leaves pinnatisect; segments narrowly linear-lanceolate; leaf-sheaths long, cylindrical, pale green, "finally falling away completely along with the rest of the leaf, so that the stems always appear clean and naked up to the base of the lowest remaining leaf, forming a striking contrast to many fan-shaped Palms, where the leaves hang about the crown of the tree in every state of decay." To be grown to perfection, Euterpes should have plenty of heat, and a rich, loamy soil. They attain a height of from 40ft. to 120ft. in their native habitats. E. edulis (edible). l., segments lanceolate, acuminate; rachis and nerves scaly beneath. Trunk cylindric, 40ft. to 100ft. high. Brazil, &c. E. montana (mountain). l., segments lanceolate, spreading, attenuated; petioles scaly beneath. Stem 40ft. or more high. The portion of the plant (in this and other species) which is eaten, either as a fresh vegetable or as a pickle, is the terminal bud and the soft interior part of the stem. E. oleracea (culinary). Cabbage Palm; Cabbage-tree. l., segments lanceolate-linear, acuminate, glabrescent. Spadix branches furfuraceous, tomentose. Trunk 80ft. to 120ft. high. West Indies, &c.