Edible Portion: Fruit, Cabbage, Sap, Palm Heart, Flowers, Nuts-Oil
A tall unbranched evergreen palm. It grows to 30 m high. The trunk can be 30-40 cm across. The trunk is covered with fibres and has the bases of old leaves along it. It produces suckers on the trunk and at the base. The fronds are grey-green. The leaves are 6-7 m long. The leaflets are 20-40 cm long. They are spaced in two irregular rows along each side of the stalk. Male and female flowers are produced on separate trees. The flowers spadices are yellow-brown. There are 1,000-1,500 fruit is a cluster. The fruit is small, brown and very sweet. It has one grooved seed. The fruit is 2.5-5 cm long. When ripe the fruit is dull yellow and the flesh soft. The skins of the fruit darken when dried. Strands of fruit have 25-35 dates. The fruit are edible.