English Name/ Common Name- Jaggery Palm, Toddy Palm, Wine Palm.
Local Name- ಬೈನೆ (Baine) - Kannada
Eendh - Tulu
Botanical Name- Caryota urens
Appearance - Fishtail palm is the feathered, triangular green leaf that looks a bit like a fishtail, giving the plant the nickname fishtail palm. All other palms have either fan-shaped or featherlike leaves. Its massive white flowering cluster is borne at the top of the tree and hangs downward. The fruit is small, red in color, and contains a single seed. Fishtail palms are large trees, at least 18 meters (60 feet) tall.
Origin- Fishtail palm, is a species of palm native to Tropical Asia from India to Java to southern China, now sparingly naturalized in southern Florida and in parts of Africa and Latin America.
Conditions required for Growth- Fishtail palms require a great deal of very bright light. A steady supply of light moisture. Any standard peat-based or coir-based potting with added drainage material will do a good job.
Uses- The very young, unfolded leaves are eaten as a vegetable. A slightly bitter flavor. Cooked and eaten with rice. A starch obtained from the trunk is used as sago. Seed is edible after removing the poisonous fruit wall and is used as a masticatory in place of betel nut.
Common Remedies-
- (Part of the tree used - Flower )The juice from the fishtail palm is very nourishing and you have to drink it shortly after getting it from the palm flower shoot. Boil the juice down to get a rich sugar syrup or ferment the juice into wine. The pulp of the fruits should not be eaten however the kernel is edible. The growing tip of the Fishtail Palm is also edible. The chief food in this palm is the starch stored in large quantities in its trunk.
