''Caryota'' is a genus of
palm trees. They are often known as fishtail palms because of the shape of their leaves. There are about 13 species native to Asia (China, India, Indonesia, etc.), northern Australia, and the
South Pacific.
[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref> One of the more widely known species is '' Caryota urens'', the flowers of which are used to make one type of jaggery
Jaggery is a List of unrefined sweeteners, traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of Sugarcane juice, cane jui ...
(an unrefined sugar), and also to make palm wine
Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and ...
. '' Caryota mitis'' is native to Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
, but has become an invasive introduced species in the US state of Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. They are also one of the few Arecaceae
The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowering plants in the Monocotyledon, monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbing palm, climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly k ...
with bipinnate foliage. Many grow in mountainous areas and are adapted to warm mediterranean climates as well as subtropical and tropical climates.[Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.]
Fishtail palms contain raphide
Raphides ( ; singular ''raphide'' or ''raphis'') are needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate monohydrate ( prismatic monoclinic crystals) or calcium carbonate as aragonite ( dipyramidal orthorhombic crystals), found in more than 200 familie ...
s.
Species
Gallery
File:Fishtail palm.JPG, Fishtail palm at Bhopal
Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...
File:Fishtail palm1.JPG, Fishtail palm at Bhopal
Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...
File:Fishtail-palm-flower-detail.jpg, Fishtail palm flower in detail.
File:Fishtail palm at Chandigarh.jpg, Fishtail palm at Chandigarh
File:Fishtail palm - close up.jpg, Fishtail palm - close up
File:Leaves of Fishtail palm tree.jpg, Leaves of fishtail palm tree
File:Fishtail palm - detail.jpg, Fishtail palm - detail
References
External links
USDA Plants ProfileGRIN Species listPalm Guide
{{Authority control
Arecaceae genera
Garden plants of Asia
Garden plants of Oceania
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus