Raphia farinifera (Gaertn.) Hylander

Massive, clustering (rarely solitary) palm to 25 m. or more tall; trunk to 60 cm. or more in diameter, to 10 m. tall or more, the lower part with pronounced leaf-scars, some remains of rotted leaf-sheaths and apogeotropic adventitious roots, upper part covered with leaf-bases.. Leaves erect, slightly spreading, giving most crowns a rather characteristic ‘shuttlecock’ appearance, very large, to 20 m. long; leaf-base sheathing at the base, with a ragged ligular edge; petiole rounded, to 1.5 m. long, ± 20 cm. in diameter, decreasing gradually, ±12 cm. in diameter at the insertion of the lowermost leaflets, and the rachis gradually decreasing above; rachis in fresh state orangey brown or almost crimson, with 2 lateral grooves near the base, accommodating the leaflets in bud and a median adaxial crest distally; leaflets up to ± 150 or more on each side, to 1 m. long by 8 cm. wide, inserted mostly in two planes, the whole leaf hence appearing plumose, stiff, hardly drooping; margins and main veins with distally pointing spines to 3 mm. long; lamina abaxially white waxy, very sparsely waxy adaxially; main veins usually somewhat reddish in colour.. Inflorescences produced ± simultaneously from the axils of reduced leaves at the stem apex, pendulous, massive, to 3 m. long by 35 cm. wide. Primary inflorescence-bracts to 30 cm. long by 20 cm. wide, tubular, partially enclosing the first and second order branches; primary branching system to 30 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide at the base with a basal 2-keeled prophyll to 18 cm. long; and 1 or a few empty tubular bracts to 6 cm. long; further bracts ± 5 mm. apart, closely sheathing, ± 4-ranked, each subtending a rachilla; all rachillae lying close together and almost congested at anthesis; rachillae to 12 cm. in proximal part of inflorescence, shorter in distal part, exceptionally to 15 cm., to 1.5 cm. wide.. Male flower to 12 mm. long by 2 mm. wide, enclosed by a 2-keeled prophyll to 6 mm. long; calyx tubular, scarcely 3-lobed, to 4 mm. long; corolla with a basal tube to 2 mm. long and 3 lobes 10 mm. long by 1.5 mm. wide, acute, slightly thickened in the uppermost 3 mm.; stamens 6, epipetalous at the mouth of the corolla-tube, with filaments 2 mm. long by 0.5 mm. wide, fleshy and weakly connate, anthers ± 3.5 mm. long by 0.5 mm. wide; pistillode not seen.. Pistillate flower enclosed in a 2-keeled prophyll to 8 mm. long and a second bracteole to 3 mm. long; calyx tubular, truncate, usually splitting, to 8 mm. by 4 mm.; corolla much shorter than the calyx, hence hidden, tubular in the proximal 2 mm., with poorly developed apiculate lobes to 3 mm. long by 2 mm. wide; staminodes 6, very inconspicuous; ovary to 5 mm. long by 3 mm. wide, covered in vertical rows of reflexed orangey brown fimbriate scales.. Fruit at maturity very variable, ovoid, pyriform, or ellipsoidal, sometimes developing without seed, in which case very narrowly ellipsoidal, 7.5–10 × 4–5.5 cm., covered in 12–13 rows of convex reflexed scales and tipped by a short beak to 5 mm. high; scales normally with a pronounced mid-groove and a deep dimple at the base into which fits the tip of the next scale, the largest scales ± 15 mm. long, 18 mm. wide, bright orangey brown in colour; mesocarp to ± 5 mm. thick when fresh, oily, drying very hard.. Seed usually 1 only, 4–6 cm. long by 3–4 cm. in diameter, its shape conforming to the external shape of the fruit, pointed at the base; sarcotesta closely grooved in dry specimens; endosperm with sparse ruminations.. Fig. 7.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It grows in swamp areas. It grows from sea level to 880 m altitude. In Tanzania it grows from sea level to 2,500 m above sea level. It suits moist and humid locations. It suits plant hardiness zones 10-11. In Townsville palmetum.

The flower stalk can be tapped for sap for wine. The cabbage can be eaten. Flour is made from the pith of the stem. The fruit pulp yields a fatty oil used for edible purposes after refining. The fruit are crushed in a mortar, water added and then boiled and left to cool. The oil floats to the top and is skimmed off and used for cooking.

It spreads by suckers. Seeds are slow to germinate. The thick outer layer of the seeds needs to be removed.