Phoenix paludosa (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Phoenix paludosa Roxb.

Family: Palmae

Synonyms

Phoenix siamensis Miq.

Vernacular names

• Mangrove date palm, Bengal date palm (En)
• Malaysia: dangsa (Penang). Burma (Myanmar): thin-boung
• Cambodia: peng
• Thailand: peng-tha-le
• Vietnam: (cay) cha la rừng.

Distribution

India, Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Indo-China, Peninsular Malaysia and northern Sumatra.

Uses

The leaves are made into rough rope, mats, umbrellas and fences, and are used for thatching. They have been tried for paper making, but the pulp yield was only 25%. The stems are used for walking sticks, rafters and fence posts. The terminal bud and the pith are edible. In Thailand the fruits are eaten in curries.

Observations

A dioecious clustering palm, growing in dense clumps; stem up to 5(-8) m tall, up to 9 cm in diameter. Leaves up to 2-3 m long; pseudo-petiole 70-100 cm long; leaflets fascicled in 3s and 4s, about 34 on each side of the rachis, 12-40 cm × 0.4-2.2 cm, flaccid, often recurved. Inflorescence unisexual; male inflorescence compact; peduncle 20-30 cm long; female inflorescence erect, opening out and elongating in fruit; peduncle up to 30 cm long. Fruit an ovoid-ellipsoid, 1-seeded berry, 10-12 mm × 7-10 mm, maturing from yellow-green to orange to blue-black. P. paludosa grows in pure stands at the edges of mangrove and in estuarine coastal swamps. In its native habitat it flowers from February to April; fruits ripen from June to December. Its conservation status varies regionally, being at risk from increasing urban development in both Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.

Selected sources

10, 20, 30, 66, 91, 187, 197.

Authors

M. Brink, P.C.M. Jansen & C.H. Bosch