Raphia vinifera P.Beauv.

West african piassava palm (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Arecales > Arecaceae > Raphia

Characteristics

A clumping palm. The trunk is short and stout. It is 5 m tall. There are suckers near the base. The plant forms a clump. Each trunk dies after flowering. The leaves are tall and feathery. The leaflets are long. They are dark green and shiny above and waxy and have a blue-green bloom underneath. The flowering stalk is like a thick sausage like growth. It is erect to start with then hangs over. It can be 3 m long.
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Trunk is crowned by large arching fronds up to 40 ft. long with sturdy midribs
The stout trunk of moderate size, attaining about 25 ft. in height
A handsome palm
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 6.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

A tropical plant but it will grow in the subtropics. They need plenty of water. In XTBG Yunnan.
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Of watery places, particularly abundant on the edge of creeks
Borders of rivers. Swamps and creeks.
Light 6-8
Soil humidity 4-7
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-12

Usage

The flowering stalk is cut off and the sap collected to make wine. It is also boiled down to make sugar. The fruit is bitter but is eaten. The yellow oily pulp is eaten or used as bitter flavouring. The kernels are roasted and eaten. They are used as a vegetable. The palm cabbage is eaten as a vegetable.
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The midribs' popular use as poles has prompted the common name of Bamboo-palm.
Uses fiber food material medicinal oil poison social use
Edible fruits nuts saps stems
Therapeutic use Intoxicant (unspecified), Laxative (unspecified), Liniment (unspecified), Stomachic (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Raphia vinifera unspecified picture

Distribution

Raphia vinifera world distribution map, present in Benin, Central African Republic, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Togo

Conservation status

Raphia vinifera threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1
WFO ID wfo-0000294951
COL ID 4RK27
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Metroxylon viniferum Raphia diasticha Raphia vinifera Sagus vinifera Raphia vinifera var. nigerica Raphia vinifera var. vinifera