Raphia hookeri G.Mann & H.Wendl.

A palm. It is often a solitary palm but can also have some suckers. It grows to 10-15 m high. The trunks are 30 cm across. The upper part of the trunk is covered with leaf bases and blackish spiny fibres. The leaves are shiny dark green. They can be 12 m long. The leaves are feather like. The leaflets are rigid. The flowering stalk is 2.5 m long. They hang down. The crown dies after flowering. The flowers are brownish in colour. The fruit are brown and shaped like a top. They are 12 cm long by 5 cm wide. They have a stout beak. They are light brown, hard and shiny. They have overlapping scales.

Lowland coastal freshwater swamps, where it can grow in water up to 1 metre deep, and river banks. The soils of Nigerian freshwater swamps are light textured and generally acidic.

The sap from the flower stalk is collected and used for toddy or wine. The stems can be used for starch. The central bud is eaten as a palm cabbage.

Plants can be grown from seeds.