Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Phoenix reclinata - Senegal Date Palm
Edible Portion: Cabbage, Fruit, Sap, Seeds - Coffee, Palm Heart, Vegetable, Bud
A palm. It can be a stemless suckering bush or have a ring of suckers around the base. It often grows 3-6 m high but can be 10 -25 m high. It can also be a many stemmed clump. The old stems hang over then curve upwards near the end. The trunk can be 30 cm across. The leaves are long and hang over. They are feather-shaped and 3-4 m long. There are up to 50 leaflets on each side of the leaf stalk and these are narrow and pointed. The lowermost leaflets are reduced to spines. The flowers are of separate sexes on separate trees. The male and female flowers are borne in long bunches. They are small and cream coloured. The male flowers are cup-shaped and the female flowers are round. The female flowers produce yellow fruit. The fruit are oval and 1-1.5 cm long. The flesh is edible when ripe.