Statue of Unity – Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat Rain Forest Ektanagar

Phoenix sylvestris

Syn. Elate sylvestris

IUCN Red List Not Evaluated (NE)

Local name

  • Silver Date Palm (English)
  • Kharik/Khajur (Marathi)
  • Khajuri (Gujarati)
  • Kharjurh (Sanskrit)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous
Family: Arecaceae
8m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Phoenix sylvestris bark

Bark

Trunk rough, grey-brown, prominently marked with persistent leaf-base scars.

Phoenix sylvestris leaves

Leaves

The leaves are 3 m long, gently recurved, on 1 m petioles with spines near the base. The leaf crown grows to 10 m wide and 7.5–10 m tall containing up to 100 leaves.

Phoenix sylvestris flower

Flower

The inflorescence grows to 1 metre with white, unisexual flowers forming to a large, pendent infructescence.

Phoenix sylvestris fruit / seeds

Fruit / Seeds

The single-seeded fruit ripens to a purple-red colour.

Phoenix sylvestris

Did you know?

The common name “Silver Date Palm” comes from its long, date-bearing fronds with a distinctive silvery blue-green or greyish appearance, caused by the glaucous coating on the leaves.

Distribution

World map showing distribution

South West India, Sri Lanka