''Caryota urens'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

family, native to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

(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 Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "stinging" alluding to the chemicals in the fruit. Common names in English include solitary fishtail palm, kitul 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 Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. It is one of the

sugar palm Sugar palm is a common name for several species of palms used to produce sugar. :Species used include: *''Arenga pinnata'' (syn. ''A. saccharifera'') *''Borassus flabellifer'' *'' Caryota'' :*'' Caryota urens'' *''Cocos nucifera'' See also * Tod ...

Description

''Caryota urens'' species is a solitary-trunked tree that can measure in height and up to wide. Widely spaced leaf-scar rings cover its gray trunk which culminate in a wide, 6 m tall leaf crown. The bipinnate

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are triangular in shape, bright to deep green, long, and held on long petioles. The obdeltoid pinnae are 30 cm long with a pointed edge and a jagged edge. The long

inflorescences In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( pe ...

emerge at each leaf node, from top to bottom, producing pendent clusters of white, unisexual

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

matures to a round,

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

, red in color with one

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

. Like all '' Caryotas'', the fruit contains

oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and chemical formula , also written as or or . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name i ...

, a skin and membrane irritant. As these plants are

monocarpic Monocarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds only once, and then die. The term is derived from Greek (', "single" + , "fruit" or "grain"), and was first used by Alphonse de Candolle. Other terms with the same meaning are '' hapaxanth'' ...

, the completion of the flower and fruiting process results in the death of the tree.

Uses

The trunk contains a high quantity of

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...

and a juice can be extracted from the shoots of the flowers. The latter can be boiled into a sugary syrup. The cabbage can be eaten raw or cooked. This species is called kithul (කිතුල්) in

. It is best known as the source of kithul treacle, a liquid

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 ...

. The sap of the tree is boiled for many hours until it turns into the thick, dark treacle, unique to Sri Lanka. Kithul treacle is used as a sweetener in both Sri Lankan and Western cooking. Toddy is extracted from the inflorescence, and is considered somewhat powerful compared to toddy extracted from other palm trees. In many parts of western

this toddy is fermented and distilled to make a traditional alcohol called as 'Maadi' The pulp of the mature plant is cut, sun dried, and powdered, and is edible. It is sweet in taste. This powder is considered cool and nutritious in Coastal districts of Karnataka. In Sri Lanka, the powder is mixed with coconut milk and cooked to make Kithul Thalapa (කිතුල් තලප). Elephants are fed both the leaf and the pulp of this plant. The leaves possess strong fibres and are used for basketry in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, where the plant is named ''tunsaè''. The heart of the trunk contains a starch similar to

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

, as well the trunk can be used for building. The fruit, when its stiff hairs are removed, is pleasant and sweet to eat, and, as elsewhere, the Cambodians cut the stalks to make sugar, which in turn can be made into wine.

Cultivation

''Caryota urens'' is cultivated as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

, and planted in

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s and parks in tropical and sub-tropical climates. It is also used as an interior and

houseplant A houseplant, also known as a pot plant, potted plant, or indoor plant, is an ornamental plant cultivated indoors. for aesthetic or practical purposes. These plants are commonly found in House, homes, Office, offices, and various indoor spaces, w ...

when smaller.

References

External links

Re-learning the art of making jaggeryFloridata site
{{Authority control urens Tropical fruit Trees of Sri Lanka Flora of India (region) Trees of Myanmar Fruits originating in Asia Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Description

Uses

Cultivation

References

Further reading

External links