Caryota urens

Caryota urens is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, native to Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar and Malaysia (perhaps elsewhere in Indo-Malayan region), where they grow in fields and rainforest clearings, it is regarded as introduced in Cambodia. The epithet urens is Latin for "stinging" alluding to the chemicals in the fruit. Common names in English include solitary fishtail palm, kithul palm, toddy palm, wine palm, sago palm and jaggery palm. Its leaf is used as fishing rod after trimming the branches of the leaf and drying. According to Monier-Williams, it is called moha-karin ("delusion maker") in Sanskrit. It is one of the sugar palms.

Description

A single stemmed palm up to 10-15 m tall. It can be 20 m high. It has a large, thick, ringed, grey trunk. The leaves are very large. They can be 5-6 m long and 40 cm wide. The fronds arch over. They are twice divided. The leaflets are like a fishtail or fin and with teeth at the tip. Trees flower after 10-15 years. It only fruits once then dies. The flowers are borne on large bunches of heavy, hanging spikes. They are 3-7 m long. They bear both male and female flowers. The fruit is round and about 2 cm across. They are reddish. There are 1-2 seeds. They look like a betel nut split in half.

Edible Uses

Caryota urens produces several edible products. Sap extracted from the inflorescence is used to make a sugar substitute known as kitul honey or jaggery — concentrated in wide-mouthed vessels over an open fire to produce a viscous golden syrup with a delicious flavour. Further concentration yields kitul jaggery (candy). Inflorescence sap is also fermented with a crude mixed yeast inoculum to produce toddy, which can be distilled into a more concentrated spirit, similar to coconut toddy. Starch from the stems is processed into sago. The very young unfolding leaves and leaf bud are cooked as a vegetable, though harvesting the terminal bud kills the tree as it cannot produce side shoots or new growth. The stem pith is boiled, mixed with rice and cooked. The palm heart is also edible.

Traditional Uses

An edible starch can be extracted from the stem. The stem pith is boiled, mixed with rice and cooked. The palm heart is edible. The very young unfolded leaves are edible. They are boiled. The sap from the flower stalk is used for sugar or wine. For wine it is fermented and for sugar or jaggery it is boiled down. The seeds are used as a masticatory. They are chewed with betel leaf. The shoots are used to increase the taste of meat. CAUTION: The fruit contain stinging crystals.

Medicinal Uses

A porridge made from seed flour is prescribed by local physicians to treat gastric ulcers, migraine headaches, snake-bite poisoning and rheumatic swellings. The root is used for treating tooth ailments. The bark and seed are used to treat boils. The tender flowers are used for promoting hair growth.

Known Hazards

The fruit is capable of irritating the skin and causing a burning sensation.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in tropical and warm temperate regions. It likes a deep, rich soil. It grows in open, cleared areas of rainforest. It suits humid locations. The soil needs to be well drained. It Sri Lanka it grows up to 1,000 m above sea level. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Where It Grows

Africa, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Central America, China, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Senegal, Sikkim, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants are found in moist tropical climates where temperatures never fall below 10°c, the average annual rainfall is 1,500mm or more and the driest month has 25mm or more rain. They can also succeed in warm temperate zones and in drier areas with an annual rainfall as low as 250mm and one month or more where rainfall is below 25mm. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of 5°c or lower. Plants grow well in full sun, even when small. Prefers a moist, shady situation. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 5.5 - 8. A slow-growing plant. A monocarpic species, living for several years without flowering, but then dying once it has flowered. It attains full size in about 10 - 15 years, and flowers when 15 - 30 years old. It flowers from the top down, and once the last fruit on the bottom inflorescence matures, the plant dies.. The daily yield per tree of sap for wine and sugar is 20 - 27 litres. When flowering begins, the inflorescence is stimulated to produce juice; the inflorescence is then bound into a 'candle' form and tapped for its sweet juice by repeatedly slicing off the end of the candle. A tapping period may last for 10 - 15 years before the tree dies. Harvest for sago and other purposes is mainly from wild and semi-wild populations. The trunk yields 100 - 150 kilos of starch. Usually harvests for timber occurs when the tapping period has ended. Suitable for growing indoors as a house plant. Resistant to deer.

Propagation

At room temperature, seeds remain viable for 30–90 days depending on storage conditions. An experiment in Sri Lanka found a germination rate of 99% for seeds sown after 30 days of storage in a dark room. Seeds germinate in 2–4 months. Seedlings can tolerate sun while quite small.

Other Uses

A strong, fine, soft and durable fibre obtained from the leaf bases is used to make brooms, brushes, ropes and baskets, and for stuffing cushions. A woolly scurf scraped from the leaf stalks is used for caulking boats, and in machine brushes for polishing linen and cotton yarns, cleaning scutched flax fibre, and brushing velvets. The leaves are used for thatching. The stem yields timber used for planking, flooring, rafters, roofing, partitioning and fencing, and for making spears. Stems halved lengthways and hollowed are used as gutters, drains and water conduits. Polished stems are used as monoliths in modern houses. The tree is suitable for growing indoors and has applications in carbon farming and food forest systems.

Production

It is fast growing. From the cut flower clusters 20 litres of sap per day can be collected. A mature tree yields 30-40 kg of starch from the trunk. In Sikkim fruit are available in January.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant. Children chew the seeds.

Notes

There are 12 Caryota species. They are tropical.

Nutrition

Also Known As

Anapana, Ardhashishi, Bagani, Baganimara, Bankhajur, Baraflawar, Berli, Berlimad, Bherawa, Bon supari, Cariota, Chaal gua, Cha guwa, Chao tamol, Chewa gach, Chhau, Dirgha, Dokechu, Dok kechu, Dong zong, Gol sago, Guobang, Ha da a bo, Jaggery palm, Jilugujattu, Kitul, Kittul, Koondalpanai, Koonthalpanai, Kundapana, Kwai-cha, Lamgi kwa, Mada, Mari, Maype, Minbaw, Moahi, Nyod tao, Palma ribjega repa, Panamchapu, Panasoppu, Ramgua, Rangbhang, Rungbong, Sagu, Salapa, Salopa, Shankarjata, Shivajata, Somong kung, Sowat goch, Surmadi, Taminbaw, Thippili panai, Tippili, Tippilipana, Tum, Tunsae, Tuum, Vazapana, Yiaobu

References (91)

• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 108
• Arinathan, V., et al, 2007, Wild edibles used by Palliyars of the western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 6(1) pp 163-168
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 101
• Aryal, K., Moe, A.T., Hein, P.P., Bay, Y.H.S., Htay, T., Aung, H.W., Shakya, B., Xuefei, Y., Shaoliang, Y. , 2020, Wild and non- cultivated edible plants and their contribution to local livelihoods in Putao, Myanmar. ICIMOD.
• Ashton, M. S., et al 1997, A Field Guide to the Common Trees and Shrubs of Sri Lanka. WHT Publications Ltd. p 79

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