Bark
Multiple slender, erect stems forming dense clumps. Stem dies after fruiting while the clump keeps growing.
Caryota mitis
Syn. Caryota furfuracea
IUCN Red List
Least Concern
(LC)
Local name
- Clustered Fishtail Palm (English)
Tree type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Arecaceae
10m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Large, bipinnate fronds, 1.3–3 m long, ascending to spreading, with irregularly triangular, wedge-shaped leaflets, jagged margins and fishtail-like tips.
Flower
Cream-coloured, densely branched inflorescences develop successively downwards along the stem, bearing flower groups typically comprising two male flowers and one female flower.
Fruit / Seeds
Fruits are globose, up to about 1.2 cm diameter, changing from green to reddish when mature.
Did you know?
Mitis comes from Latin, meaning “mild” or “unarmed.” It was given this name because, unlike many tropical palms, its leaves and stems lack sharp spines or thorns. Unlike most palms, it bears bipinnate leaves with jagged, triangular leaflets resembling fish fins or tails.
Distribution
S. China to Indo-China and Malesia, Comoros, India, Dominican Republic