''Phoenix sylvestris'' (''sylvestris'' - Latin, of the forest) also known as silver date palm, Indian date, sugar date palm or wild date palm, 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 family native to southern Pakistan, most of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It has been introduced to southeastern China, Sri Lanka,

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

. Growing in plains and scrubland up to 1300 m above sea level, 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 ...

from this palm species is used to make wine and jelly. The sap is tapped and drunk fresh or fermented into toddy. The fresh sap is boiled to make palm

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 ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

state of India and Bangladesh.

Description

''Phoenix sylvestris'' ranges from 4 to 15 m in height and 40 cm in diameter; not as large as the Canary Island Date Palm, but nearly so, and resembling it. The

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 3 m long, gently recurved, on 1 m petioles with acanthophylls near the base. The leaf crown grows to 10 m wide and 7.5 to 10 m tall containing up to 100 leaves. The inflorescence grows to 1 metre with white, unisexual flowers forming to a large, pendent infructescence. The single-seeded fruit ripens to a purple-red colour.Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) ''An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms''. Portland: Timber Press. (Pages 405-406) /

Gallery

File:SylvesterPalmFlorida.jpg, Growing in Englewood Florida Image:Wild Date Palm (Phoenix sylvestris) female flowers at Narendrapur W IMG 4056.jpg, Female flowers at Narendrapur near

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, India Image:Wild Date Palm (Phoenix sylvestris) male flowers at Narendrapur W IMG 4059.jpg, Male flowers at Narendrapur near

, India File:MaturePhoenixSylvestris.jpg, Mature specimen (center), Ft Myers, Florida Image:Wild Data Palm-Yucatán-fruits-spines.jpg, Fruits and spines in the

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

, Mexico File:PhoenixsylvestrisGeorgia.jpg, Growing on Saint Simons Island in Georgia USA Image:Wild Date Palm (Phoenix sylvestris)- lower trunk at Purbasthali W IMG 1660.jpg, Lower trunk at Purbasthali in Bardhaman District of

, India File:Ichalu with fruits.jpg, Fruits in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, India File:Palm sugar - പനഞ്ചക്കര.jpeg, Palm sugar from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

(India) – traditional

cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...

File:Phoenix sylvestris (fruit).jpg, Fruits in Sri Lanka File:ஈச்ச துடப்பம்.jpg, Brooms made of this tree, being sold in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India.

References

External links

PACSOA Link
*http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Phoenix_sylvestris {{Taxonbar, from=Q2285767 sylvestris Trees of the Indian subcontinent Trees of Myanmar Plants described in 1753