Dypsis ligulata

(Jum.) Beentje & J Dransf.

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Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

What to Eat

Edible parts: Palm heart, Cabbage

Leaves - cooked. The apical bud, known as a 'palm heart', is eaten as a vegetable. Eating this bud leads to the death of the plant because it is unable to make side-shoots.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant.

Africa, East Africa, Madagascar,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A solitary palm native to tropical regions, growing 4-6 m tall with a trunk approximately 20 cm across.

Medicinal Uses

The plant (parts not specified but probably the bark and/or the fruits) is used in the treatment of headaches, jaundice and hepatitis; and also as an aid to lactation.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Dypsis ligulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Notes

There are 140 Dypsis species.

Names & Synonyms

Neodypsis ligulatus Jum.

References (3)

Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H., 1995, The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society. p 177
Haynes, J., & McLaughlin, J., 2000, Edible palms and Their Uses. University of Florida Fact sheet MCDE-00-50-1 p 6
Johnson, D.V., 1998, Tropical palms. Non-wood Forest products 10. FAO Rome. p 113