Hyphaene coriacea
| Lala palm | |
|---|---|
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| In Maspalomas Botanical Garden, Gran Canaria | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Genus: | Hyphaene |
| Species: | H. coriacea
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| Binomial name | |
| Hyphaene coriacea Gaertn., 1788
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| Synonyms | |
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Hyphaene coriacea, the lala palm or ilala palm[1] is a species of palm tree native to the eastern Afrotropics.[2] It occurs in eastern Africa from Somalia to Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, and is also found in the coastal flats of Madagascar and on Juan de Nova Island in the Mozambique Channel Islands.
Description
[edit]A clustering palm, usually found in groups of 2-6 but sometimes appearing solitary. The trunk grows 1-6 m tall and 10-20 cm in diameter, typically unbranched but occasionally branched, covered in old leaf bases forming a criss-cross pattern.
The crown has 9-20 leaves, spreading with recurved rachis, reaching up to 1.8 m. The open leaf sheath is up to 40 cm long, waxy brown with fibrous margins. The petiole measures 60-97 cm, widening at the base and narrowing distally, with black triangular spines up to 1 cm long. The leaf blade is about 70 cm long and 112 cm wide, divided into 39-55 segments with filaments at the sinuses. The outer segments are 31-48 cm long, central ones 40-58 cm, with faint minor veins covered in scattered reddish scales.
Male inflorescences are interfoliar, branched to two orders, with solitary or grouped rachillae 9-36 cm long. Flowers have greenish corolla lobes, yellow anthers, and a small pistillode. Female inflorescences are interfoliar, 60-120 cm long, branched to one order with 2-5 pendulous rachillae. Female flowers have slightly obovate petals, thin staminodes, and a globose ovary.
The fruit is irregularly top-shaped, 5-6 cm high and 4-6 cm in diameter, on a hairy pedicel up to 12 mm long. The mesocarp is fibrous, and the endocarp is hard and woody. The seed is about 2.7 cm wide with a homogeneous endosperm and a central hollow.[3]
Uses
[edit]The spongy pulp of the hard, brown fruit is edible and the fruit is eaten and sold in Madagascar[4] and in eastern Africa; its Swahili name is Mkoma. The flavour has been compared to raisins and raisin bran.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Hyphaene coriacea - Palmpedia - Palm Grower's Guide".
- ^ Glen, H.F.; Reynolds, Yvonne. "Hyphaene coriacea Gaertn". PlantZAfrica.com. SANBI. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Dransfield, J. (1995). The Palms of Madagscar. Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation, Arcadia, CA, U.S.A.: J. Dransfeild, H. Beentje. ISBN 9780947643829.
- ^ "Lala Palm Tree - Hyphaene coriacea - Zimbabwe, Angola..." www.krugerpark.co.za. Retrieved 9 February 2021.