Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Actinorhytis calapparia (Blume) H.Wendl. & Drude ex Scheff. (ARECACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Calappa Palm, Pinang Penawar, Actinorhytis

Description

Solitary feather-leafed palm growing c. 15 m tall, 20 cm diameter. Crownshaft green, with 8-10 arching leaves to crown; fronds 2.1-3 m long, leaflets regularly arranged, longest leaflets c. 45 cm long. Old fronds abscised cleanly from trunk. Inflorescence much branched just below crown shaft, with cream coloured flowers. Fruits in a massive branch, green ripening orange to red, ellipsoid, c. 6-8 cm long.


Ecology

Lowland rain forest.

Distribution

New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Uses

Often planted in villages in SE Asia. The seeds are eaten similarly as Areca catechu.