Corypha utan
Lam.
Corypha palm, Sugar palm
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(c) uwekozina, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Pedro Nájera Quezada, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Pedro Nájera Quezada
What to Eat
Edible parts: Starch, Kernel, Seeds, Cabbage, Sap, Sago, Nuts, Palm heart, Flower buds
A sweet sap obtained from the inflorescence can be used as sugar or fermented into an alcoholic drink. The apical bud can be eaten raw as a salad, cooked with rice, pickled, or prepared as a vegetable — though harvesting it kills the plant, as it cannot produce side branches. A starch extracted from the pith of the stem is used to make sago. The kernels of young seeds are eaten directly or made into sweetmeats.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows along the edges of tidal rivers. They are often on heavy soils on flood plains which flood. It grows best with access to ground water. They are very common and widely distributed at low and medium altitudes from northern Luzon to Sulu in the Philippines. It is frost tender when young. It needs a warm sunny position and a well drained soil. In Indonesia it grows up to 200 m above sea level. In Papua New Guinea it grows in the Western Province. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.
Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mayotte, Myanmar, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, SE Asia, South America, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Timor,
How to Identify
The largest and most stately member of the palm family. It is tall and single stemmed. It grows to 20 m high. The trunk can be 1 m across. The bark is smooth, grey, and has rings around it. The leaves are very large and fan shaped. The leaves are rounded, and the blade can up to 3 m long by 3 m across. The leaf is deeply divided from about half way up, into many pointed lobes. The leaf stalk is 2-4 m long. The leaf stalks and leaf edges are armed with very hard, large, black spines. The flowers are small and cream-green. They are about 5-8 mm across. They occur in groups of 6-20, in flower clusters 2-5 m long near the top of the palm. The fruit are smooth and almost round. They are 2-3 cm across. They are green, and turn brown when ripe. The fruit contain a single, hard-shelled, seed. The palm flowers once, then dies.
How to Grow
Plants succeed in moist tropical climates where temperatures never fall below 10°c, the average annual rainfall is 1,500mm or more and the driest month has 25mm or more rain. They can also succeed in drier areas with an annual rainfall as low as 250mm and one month or more where rainfall is below 25mm. Plants grow well in full sun, even when small. Plants are monocarpic - living for many years without flowering, but then dying after they flower. Like all members of this genus, these palms only flower at the end of their life, sending up a massive inflorescence, up to 5 metres high, and with up to 1 million flowers. Plants are slow-growing when young.
Propagation: Propagate by seed.
Medicinal Uses
The roots are demulcent, diuretic, emollient, and stimulant. They are chewed to treat coughs, and the root juice is used for diarrhoea. A decoction of the young plant is used in the treatment of febrile catarrh. The starch from the trunk is used in treating bowel complaints.
Other Uses
The leaves have a wide range of uses including thatching for roofs and walls and weaving into baskets, mats, and hats. Leaf ribs are used to make brooms. A fibre called 'buntal', obtained from the leaf petioles, is used for making Lucban and Baliuag hats and for rope. A very fine fibre from the unfolded leaves is used for cloth, fancy articles, and string. Fibres from the ribs of unfolded leaves are used to make Calasiao hats. Mature seeds are fashioned into buttons or used as beads on rosaries.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Corypha utan, the cabbage palm, buri palm or gebang palm, is a species of palm native to Asia and Oceania.
Production
Seedlings are very slow growing. After 40-50 years it flowers, then the leaves and palm die. So each plant can only have its sap tapped once in a lifetime. The cabbage can be removed before the palm dies.
Other Information
The starch is important in PNG during times of drought.
Notes
There are 8 Corypha species.
Names & Synonyms
Bajur, Bajoon, Bajurgatul, Buoon cao, Buri palm, Gebang palm, Gewang, Gulwirri, Ibus, Komolu Silag, Lan phru, Las, Lontar utan, Pe-bin, Pochok, Puchuk, Tali
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