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Arenga wightii
Arenga wightii is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is native to the Southern Western Ghats in Kerala in India. This palm has various uses in its communities. Local tribal communities depend on this plant for starch (food supplement) and religious ceremonies. It is also used to cover the roofs of houses due to its string resemblance to coconut leaves. Scientists have discovered that this palm has medicinal value. It is said to have antimicrobial and antioxidant phytochemicals. It is threatened by habitat loss and logging.
This is a plant frequently seen in the steep slopes of Western Ghats, from Uttara Kannada to Kanyakumari. The elevation ranges from 400 to 800 metres (1,300 to 2,600 ft). This is a shade-loving palm usually seen as colonies that grows up to a height of 10 m and diameter up to 30 cm.
Local tribal communities, such as the Mudhuvans in Idukki, rely on this palm primarily for the starch obtained from its pith and for toddy, which is collected by tapping its inflorescence. The inflorescence of the palm is used in religious ceremonies, while its leaves, resembling those of the coconut palm, are used for thatching huts and pandals within the settlement. Although the fruit contains needle-like oxalate crystals that cause irritation, it is dehusked and repeatedly boiled to make it suitable for consumption. The dried kernels are ground into a powder and mixed with rice flour to prepare various foods. The palm's terminal bud, also known as the "cabbage," is edible, though it is rarely used by the community today.
Arenga palm · Formosan Sugar Palm · Arenga hookeriana · Lister's palm · Tibetan sugar palm · Arenga microcarpa · Lang Kap · Sugar palm · Arenga westerhoutii · Arenga palm
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Arenga wightii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
