Palmyra palm

Robust palm tree, up to 30 m tall. Trunk grey, ringed with leaf scars (old leaves remain attached to the trunk for several years before falling cleanly). Leaves fan-shaped and 3 m long. Dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants). Fruits black to brown with sweet, fibrous pulp and each seed is enclosed within a woody endocarp. Young palmyra seedlings grow slowly, producing only a few leaves each year (establishment phase), but at an as yet undetermined time, they grow rapidly, producing a substantial stem.

Native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Naturalized in Pakistan and parts of China. The Palmyra palm has a growth pattern, very large size, and clean habits that makes it an attractive ornamental tree, cultivated for planting in gardens and parks around the world as landscape palm species.

Nearly all parts of this palm tree can be used: The fruit to eat, the sap for sugar production, the sprouts to eat, the leaves for baskets and writing material, the trunk for construction works, etc.