Corypha umbraculifera L.

Talipot palm (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Arecales > Arecaceae > Corypha

Characteristics

It is a solitary palm. It is very large. It grows to 25 m high. The trunk is 60-90 cm across. The leaves have leaf segments spread out like fingers on a hand. The leaf stalk continues into the leaf. Individual leaves can be 5 m across. The leaves are bright green and carried on a large leaf stalk. This can be 4 m long. The leaf stalk has many small teeth along the edge. The younger parts of the trunk are covered with the remains of the leaf bases. It only flowers once then dies. The flower panicle at the end of the plant which can be 6 m high. It has millions of tiny cream flowers. The fruit are dull green and round. They are 3-5 cm across. The plant grows for 30-80 years and reaches 12-25 m high before flowering.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.55 - 0.95
Mature height (meter) 20.0 - 25.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

A tropical plant. Once established plants can tolerate considerable dryness. It grows best in tropical zones. It can grow on most soils but needs good drainage. In Sri Lanka it grows below 800 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan. In Townsville palmetum.
More
Not known in a truly wild situation. Moist regions, at elevations below 600 metres in Sri Lanka.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 3-7
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity 4-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-11

Usage

Starch is extracted from the stem. This needs to be done before flowering. The sap is used to make fermented drinks. The palm cabbage is edible. It needs to be cut before flowering as it later becomes bitter.
Uses environmental use fiber food material medicinal
Edible nuts saps seeds
Therapeutic use Piscicide (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) 1
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Corypha umbraculifera leaf picture by IMMORTAL_2209 (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Corypha umbraculifera flower picture by Herwig Mees (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Corypha umbraculifera fruit picture by Daniel Barthelemy (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Corypha umbraculifera world distribution map, present in Andorra, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:666347-1
WFO ID wfo-0000925851
COL ID YRYH
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 448124
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Corypha guineensis Corypha umbraculifera Bessia sanguinolenta