Caryota urens

General Description:

Caryota urens a lofty handsome palm, with a smooth cylindrical annulate trunk, 20mt. high and 1½ft. diam. Bearing large leaves, 18-20ft. long and 10 - 12ft. broad.  In IUCN category it is Least Concern (LC) plant. The leaves are not grouped in a terminal crown as in the case of the great majority of palms, but spring successively from the trunk for a good distance below the summit.  They are bipinnate with leaflets shaped like the tail of a fish.  The palm grows rapidly attaining its full height in 10 -15 years, after which it begins to flower.  It is monoecious.  Flowers are borne on pendulous inflorescences, 10 -20ft. long, appearing first at the axils of the leaves and later, with advancing age, continuing downwards till the palm is 20 or 25 years old, when it dies. The palm is considered to be indigenous to India, Ceylon and Malaya and is met with in large number in the moist forest regions of the western and eastern coasts and in the cool and shady valleys of Chota Nagpur, Orissa, north Bengal and Assam up to 5000ft. above sea level.  It is commonly cultivated in gardens. It is native to India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Shri-Lanka.