Palm
Fishtail Palm
Caryota urens L.
FamilyArecaceae
EspañolPalma cola de pescado
AlsoSolitary fishtail palm, Wine palm, Indian sago palm, Kitul
A solitary-trunked palm 12–20 m tall with a grey trunk ringed by widely spaced leaf scars and large bipinnate leaves whose leaflets are shaped like the tail of a fish. It is monocarpic: the palm flowers once, starting at the top of the trunk and working downwards over several years, and then dies. In its native range it is tapped for sap that is made into toddy, syrup and jaggery.
Sourced · see Record tab Least Concern (IUCN, via GBIF) · IUCN
Worth knowingThe palm is monocarpic: flowering starts at the crown and moves down the trunk over several years, and once the last inflorescence is spent the whole palm dies.
13on the estate
3carrying a tag
2sponsored
| Tag | Garden area | Zone | Planted | Status | Sponsored | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 214 | Jungle Boardwalk | B | 17 June 2016 | Healthy | Ramaswamy S., USA | |
| 215 | Jungle Boardwalk | B | 17 June 2016 | Healthy | — | |
| 216 | Jungle Boardwalk | B | 17 June 2016 | Healthy | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | Janagan R., Canada | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — | |
| — | Palm Jungle | B | 17 June 2016 | Planted | — |
10 of these have no tag yet; they will be numbered when the garden team re-tags the estate.