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Borassus aethiopum
Also called African Fan Palm, Elephant Palm, Rhun Palm, Black Rum Palm, Borassus Palm, Deleb Palm, African Palmyra Palm
Borassus aethiopum is a large, solitary fan palm native to tropical and southern Africa, northwest Madagascar and the Comoros, growing up to 25 m tall in drier savannah. It is a landscape tree rather than a common houseplant, needing full sun, space and a warm, seasonally dry climate.
Borassus aethiopum is a species of Borassus palm from Africa. In English, it is variously referred to as African fan palm, African palmyra palm, deleb palm, ron palm, toddy palm, black rhun palm, rônier palm (from the French). It is widespread across much of tropical Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to northern South Africa, though it is largely absent from the forested areas of Central Africa and desert regions such as the Sahara and Namib. This palm also grows in northwest Madagascar and the Comoros.
The tree has many uses: the fruit are edible, as are the tender roots produced by the young plant; fibres can be obtained from the leaves; and the wood (which is reputed to be termite-proof) can be used in construction. The fruit's epicarp may be cooked and pressed to prepare a porridge prized by the Baoulé and Kulango peoples of Côte d'Ivoire.
Borassus akeassii · Toddy palm · Borassus madagascariensis · Borassus palm
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Borassus aethiopum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
