Borassus flabellifer

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Figure 1. B. flabellifer

Common Names:

Palmyra Palm,
Toddy Palm

Distribution & Habitat:

India and Malaysia, in drier open forest, often near the coast.

Description:

A very large palmate palm, with a hard, black trunk, and a skirt of dead leaves underneath the crown. The leaves are very large, up to 3m across, and bluey green in colour. It has large black fruit.

General:

The palms are often tapped for their sap which is used to make palm sugar.

Culture:

Hot, sunny, well drained position. Drought tolerant, cold sensitive. The seed is best germinated in its final position, since it very much resents being moved once established.

Figure 2. B. flabellifer in central Thailand

Figure 3. B. flabellifer fruit (this contains 3 seeds).

Contributed by:

Gil Chimagra (Figure 1,2&3)

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, GoogleImages, Flickr, PalmTalk