Salacca affinis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Salacca affinis Griffith

Family: Palmae

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: linsum (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: salak hutan (Peninsular).

Distribution

Indonesia (Sumatra), Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore.

Uses

The fruits are edible, sweet.

Observations

• Dioecious, clustering, armed palm, 5-6 m tall with short stem and pinnate leaves up to 4 m long.
• Fruit drupe-like, cylindrical, but conical at apex, about 7.5 cm long, dark brown, with flat scales, deeply grooved.

Scattered in forests at wet places or in swamps.

Selected sources

• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd ed. 2 Volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.

• Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlandsch Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd ed. 3 Volumes. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch Indië. 1953 pp.

• Ridley, H.N., 1922-1925. The Flora of the Malay Peninsula. 5 Volumes. Government of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States. L. Reeve & Co., London.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen