Although the crop is of Latin American origin, its historical use dates back to the beginning of Christianity. “The next day, the great crowd that had come to the festival, hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!’” (John 12:12–13). Research indicates that common palm trees did not grow naturally in the immediate surroundings of Jerusalem, so the branches probably came from areas such as Jericho or Bethany, where these palms were abundant. It is believed that the branches used to welcome Jesus were Emerald Palm, which is why this plant is used in many churches in the United States on Palm Sunday. It is celebrated by the majority of Christian denominations (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, among others) and marks the beginning of Holy Week.
The cultivation of Chamaedorea costaricana, better known as Emerald Palm, dates back to Costa Rica in the mid-19th century. Chamaedorea costaricana was formally described by Anders Sandoe Oersted in 1859. The name reflects its origin in Costa Rica. This palm has been cultivated as an ornamental plant in San José (Costa Rica) at least since the late 19th century. It was commonly collected from the slopes of the Barva Volcano and the Central Plateau, and today it is widely found in gardens and urban spaces, either as hedges or as individual specimens. From Costa Rica, C. costaricana has spread globally into collections and gardens, being cultivated in places such as California, Florida, Hawaii, Australia, and other parts of the world.
The genus Chamaedorea is highly diversified in the Neotropical region, with more than 150 species in Costa Rica. Many of these, including C. costaricana, are essential to the ornamental foliage export sector. Although C. costaricana itself is not always specifically mentioned, the trade of leaves within the genus Chamaedorea has been significant in Latin America. In Mexico, for example, the trade of these leaves (Chamaedorea spp.) began in the late 1940s, with exports of species such as C. elegans to the United States as early as 1946. At that time, Mexico supplied approximately 85% of the demand, while Guatemala and Costa Rica supplied the rest.
