Arenga pinnata

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Figure 1. A young plant.

Synonyms:

Arenga saccharifera

Common Names:

Sugar Palm

Habitat:

Tropical Asian rainforest.

Description:

A large palm, with erect, 3m long leaves. The trunk is covered in a black fibrous hessian like material, while the leaf bases have long spines protecting them.

General:

Widely grown in the tropics and is used to produce sugar, sago, and alcoholic drinks.

Culture:

Full sun, and lots of water, in a well drained position. Can be grown in warm temperate areas, but it is a much slower grower there.

Figure 2. Adult plant.

Figure 3. A. pinnata infructescence.

Figure 4. A. pinnata in habitat, Sumatra.

They evidently act like straw, and form a waterproof covering.

Contributed by:

Tony Huntington (Figure 1)
Mike Gray (Figures 2-5).

External Links:

Kew, PalmWeb, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, Google Images, Flickr, PACSOA Forums, PalmTalk