Carpoxylon macrospermum

H. A. Wendl. & Drude

Carpoxylon palm

ArecaceaeFruitShootsPotential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Cabbage, Palm heart

The young, immature fruit are edible, and the palm heart (cabbage) and fruit kernels can be consumed.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in partial shade or full sun. It needs plenty of moisture. It is damaged by frost. It needs humus-rich soil. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. In Townsville palmetum.

Australia, North America, Pacific, USA, Vanuatu,

Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Micronesia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Kiribati, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nauru, New Zealand, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Palau, Solomon Islands, El Salvador, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, United States, St Vincent, Vanuatu, Samoa

How to Identify

A solitary feather-leafed palm. It has a prominent green crown-shaft. The stem has prominent rings. The trunk can be 18 m tall and 35 cm across. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. The leaves are long and feathery. The leaves arch over. The flowering stalk comes from below the crown-shaft. The fruit are 6 cm long by 3.5 cm wide. They are red. These have an edible kernel.

How to Grow

Plants are grown from seed. Seed take 3-6 months to germinate. Young plants require shade for the first few years.

Production

Seedling growth is very rapid providing it has plenty of moisture.

Other Information

It is a cultivated plant.

Notes

There is only one Carpoxylon species. It is an endangered species.

Names & Synonyms

Bungool, Nibaglou, Nohoej

References (8)

Dowe, J.L., 1989, Palms of the South-West Pacific. Palm and Cycad Society of Australia. p 106
Gibbons, M., 2003, A pocket guide to Palms. Chartwell Books. p 65
Haynes, J., & McLaughlin, J., 2000, Edible palms and Their Uses. University of Florida Fact sheet MCDE-00-50-1 p 4
Johnson, D.V., 1998, Tropical palms. Non-wood Forest products 10. FAO Rome. p 79
Jones, D.L., 2000, Palms of Australia 3rd edition. Reed/New Holland. p 131
Marinelli, J. (Ed), 2004, Plant. DK. p 362
Riffle, R.L. & Craft, P., 2003, An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Timber Press. p 289
www.virtualherbarium.org