Dypsis pilulifera
(Becc.) Beentje
Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (via Wikimedia Commons)
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. It grows from 750-950 m altitude in Madagascar. It grows in rainforest. It suits humid locations. It does best in good soil and with adequate moisture. It is a tropical plant.
Africa, East Africa, Madagascar*,
How to Identify
A solitary palm. It grows 8-30 m tall. The trunk is 10-40 cm across. Young parts are green and older parts are brown or dark grey. There are distinct rings of old leaf base scars. The crown-shaft is 1-1.6 m long. It bulges at the base. There are only a few leaves and they are 4-5 m long. They are spreading and slightly arching. The leaflets are deep green. They are 1-1.3 m long. They grow in widely spaced groups and hang down.
How to Grow
Probably not very cold tolerant. Prefers a sunny, moist, but well drained position.
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 pilulifera is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Production
It grows quickly.
Notes
There are 140 Dypsis species.
Names & Synonyms
Hozatanana, Lavaboko, Ovomamy, Tavila
References (6)
- Balick, M.J. and Beck, H.T., (Ed.), 1990, Useful palms of the World. A Synoptic Bibliography. Colombia p 334 (As Chrysalidocarpus paucifolius and Chrysalidocarpus pilulifera),
- Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H., 1995, The Palms of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and The International Palm Society. p 161
- 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 114
- Riffle, R.L. & Craft, P., 2003, An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Timber Press. p 331
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
