WorldFloraDB - Carludovica palmata

Characteristics

Plants stout, acaulescent. Leaves long-peti-olate; blade broadly flabellate, divided into 3-5 wedge-shaped segments, each in turn subdivided into numerous acuminate sectors, about 40-80 cm. broad and long; petioles relatively slender, about 1-2 m. long. Peduncles slender, about 20-45 cm. long; spathes usually 4, congested im-mediately below-the spadix, 30-50 cm. long, the outer green, frequently with foliaceous, palmate appendages, the inner creamy white and petala-ceous; spadix narrowly cylindrical, 10-12 cm. long, about 1 cm. thick; fruiting perigonial. lobes deltoid-trigonal, 1.0-1.5 mm. long, about as long as the pistils.

More

An evergreen shrub. It is palm like. It is erect and in tufts. It grows 3-4 m high. The leaves are papery and spread out like fingers on a hand. The leaves are in 4 parts and they are 40-80 cm long. The leaf stalk is rigid and has a groove running along it. The flowers grow in a fleshy spike from the ground level. There are 3-4 per plant. They are 10-20 cm long. The flowers are of one sex with both sexes on the one stalk. They are arranged in a spiral around a stalk. The fruit have a reddish, sweet pulp.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

evergreen

Sexuality

-

Pollination

-

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

-

Mature height (meter)

2.0 - 2.5

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

1.5

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

-

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It suits moist, humid conditions. It needs fertile, well-drained soil. It is best in light shade. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

More

Moist or usually wet, mixed, lowland or mountain rainforest, sometimes in open places, especially in areas of secondary growth, at elevations below 800 metres.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The young leaves and shoot tips are eaten in salads. The inner portion of the lower leaf stalk is eaten. The berries are eaten. The rhizomes are used as a salad and potherb. The young flowering stalk is also eaten. CAUTION: The fruit can contain calcium oxalate crystals that irritate the throat.

Uses	environmental use fiber food gene source material medicinal potherb
Edible	flowers fruits leaves rhizomes roots shoots
Therapeutic use	-
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed or by dividing the clump.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	24 - 32
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-

Images

Leaf

Carludovica palmata leaf picture by Daniel Barthelemy (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Fruit

Distribution

Conservation status

Identifiers

LSID	urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:297578-1
WFO ID	wfo-0000763027
COL ID	69C5P
BDTFX ID	-
INPN ID	447793
Wikipedia (EN)	Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Carludovica gigantea Carludovica humilis Carludovica serrata Ludovia palmata Salmia palmata Carludovica jamaicensis Salmia jamaicensis Carludovica palmata var. humilis Carludovica incisa Carludovica palmata

WorldFloraDB 2024

Carludovica palmata Ruiz & Pav.

Panama hat plant (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Pandanales > Cyclanthaceae > Carludovica