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Borassus flabellifer
Also called Doub Palm, Palmyra Palm, Tala Palm, Wine Palm, Asian Palmyra Palm, Panai Maram, Sea Coconut
In Singapore: Palmyra Palm, Tah, Tai, Talouriksha Palm, Lontar, Toddy Palm, Wine Palm, Tala Palm, Doub Palm, Sugar Palm, Sea Coconut, Fan Palm, 糖棕 (Grown in Singapore)
Toddy palm is a tall, solitary fan palm of South and Southeast Asia, reaching 20 to 30 m, valued for its sap, fruit and leaves. It is best grown in full sun in well-drained soil, and it resents root disturbance, so seed is sown where it will grow.
Borassus flabellifer, also known as palmyra palm, is a fan palm native to tropical and sub-tropical regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is a tall, sturdy tree growing up to 20–30 m (66–98 ft), with large fan-shaped leaves arranged in the form of a crown. It produces a pale white and branched inflorescence consisting of clusters of flowers. It produces bunches of large fruits containing sweet, watery kernels.
It grows in a wide range of habitats and is drought resistant to an extent. It takes a few years to mature and can have a productive life of 100+ years. Most of the parts of the tree including its fruit, sap, leaves, and trunk, find extensive applications. The fruits and sprouts are edible, while the sap is used to make palm wine, sugar, jaggery, and palm candy. The leaves and fibres are used for thatching, weaving, and handicrafts.
Palmyra palm is native to tropical and sub-tropical regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has since been introduced to Africa, China, and other parts of the world. It grows in a variety of habitats from dry areas to coastal sandy soils. It is generally grown along the edges of rice fields and borders of human settlements. It is drought resistant but grows well in well-drained soils with some shade. The tree is difficult to transplant once it germinates because of its deeper roots and hence seeds are sown in the final intended positions.
Various parts of the palmyra palm tree has found extensive usage since pre-historical period. Greek traveller Megasthenes, who visited India during Chandragupta Maurya's rule in the 4th century BCE, describes jaggery made from palm sap. In a Tamil poem titled Tala Vilasam, the tree is referred to as "tree of life" and about 801 different uses of its parts have been described. Because of its height and appearance, it is used as a natural shield against winds and grown as an ornamental plant.
Palmyra palm · Borassus akeassii · Borassus madagascariensis · Borassus palm
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Borassus flabellifer 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.
