Phoenix sylvestris

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Phoenix sylvestris
Wild Date Palm (Phoenix sylvestris) tree at Purbasthali W IMG 1494.jpg
In West Bengal, India
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Phoenix
Species:
P. sylvestris
Binomial name
Phoenix sylvestris
(L.) Roxb., 1832 [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Elate sylvestrisL.
  • Elate versicolorSalisb.

Phoenix sylvestris (sylvestris - Latin, of the forest) also known as silver date palm, Indian date, sugar date palm or wild date palm, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the palm family native to southern Pakistan, most of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It is also reportedly naturalized in Mauritius, the Chagos Archipelago, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands. [1] Growing in plains and scrubland up to 1300 m above sea level, the fruit from this palm species is used to make wine and jelly. The sap is tapped and drunk fresh or fermented into toddy. The fresh sap is boiled to make palm jaggery in West Bengal state of India and Bangladesh.

Contents

Preparing to collect sap at Jessore, Bangladesh COLLECTING DATE SAP.JPG
Preparing to collect sap at Jessore, Bangladesh

Description

Phoenix sylvestris ranges from 4 to 15 m in height and 40 cm in diameter; not as large as the Canary Island Date Palm, but nearly so, and resembling it. The leaves are 3 m long, gently recurved, on 1 m petioles with acanthophylls near the base. The leaf crown grows to 10 m wide and 7.5 to 10 m tall containing up to 100 leaves. The inflorescence grows to 1 metre with white, unisexual flowers forming to a large, pendent infructescence. The single-seeded fruit ripens to a purple-red colour. [3]

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Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, and is naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. P. dactylifera is the type species of genus Phoenix, which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms.

<i>Phoenix</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants of the palm family

Phoenix is a genus of 14 species of palms, native to an area starting from the Canary Islands in the west, across northern and central Africa, to the extreme southeast of Europe (Crete), and continuing throughout southern Asia from Turkey east to southern China and Malaysia. The diverse habitats they occupy include swamps, deserts, and mangrove sea coasts. Most Phoenix species originate in semi-arid regions, but usually occur near high groundwater levels, rivers, or springs. The genus is unusual among members of subfamily Coryphoideae in having pinnate, rather than palmate leaves; tribe Caryoteae also have pinnate or bipinnate leaves.

<i>Chamaerops</i> Genus of palms

Chamaerops is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. The only currently fully accepted species is Chamaerops humilis, variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy palms and is used in landscaping in temperate climates.

<i>Borassus</i> Genus of palms

Borassus is a genus of five species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea.

<i>Acanthophoenix</i> Genus of palms

Acanthophoenix is a genus of flowering plants in the palm family from the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean, where they are commonly called palmiste rouge. A genus long in flux, three species are currently recognized, though unsustainable levels of harvesting for their edible palm hearts have brought them all to near extinction in habitat. They are closely related to the Tectiphiala and Deckenia genera, differing in the shape of the staminate flower. The name combines the Greek words for "thorn" and "date palm".

<i>Phoenix reclinata</i> Species of palm

Phoenix reclinata, the wild date palm or Senegal date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family native to tropical Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. It is also reportedly naturalized in Florida, Puerto Rico, Bermuda and the Leeward Islands. The plants are found from sea level to 3000 m, in rain forest clearings, monsoonal forests and rocky mountainsides.

<i>Phoenix rupicola</i> Species of palm

Phoenix rupicola or cliff date palm is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, native to the mountainous forests of India and Bhutan from 300 to 1200 m, usually occurring on cliffs, hillsides and similar terrain. It is threatened by habitat loss in its native range. On the other hand, the species is reportedly naturalised in the Andaman Islands, the Leeward Islands, Cuba and Puerto Rico and a specimen has recently been reported in Saint Lucia.

<i>Roscheria</i> Species of plant

Roscheria is an endangered, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family. The genus is named for Albrecht Roscher, a 19th-century German explorer, and the epithet for its single species R. melanochaetes derives from Latin and Greek meaning 'black' and 'bristle', alluding to the spines covering the trunks. They naturally occur on the Mahé and Silhouette Islands of Seychelles where they grow in mountainous rainforest and are threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Phoenix acaulis</i> Species of palm

Phoenix acaulis the dwarf date palm or stemless date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, native to northern India, Bhutan and Nepal. Found in altitudes from 350 to 1500 m, Phoenix acaulis grows in scrubland, savannas and in pine forests. Trunks in this species remain underground or, at most, grow to a few inches in height. Leaves are 1.5 m long, gray-green, with 25 cm, pinnately arranged leaflets on short, armed petioles.

<i>Phoenix loureiroi</i> Species of palm

Phoenix loureiroi is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, indigenous to southern Asia, from the Philippines, Taiwan, India, southern Bhutan, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Pakistan, and China. It occurs in deciduous and evergreen forests and in clear terrain from sea level to 1,500 m altitude.

Aphandra is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family native to the Amazon rainforest vegetation in South America. Its only species is Aphandra natalia, sometimes called mastodon palm or fiber palm, and is used by indigenous peoples in the construction of brooms and other products. This plant is commercially exploited for its edible fruits, and for its leaf sheath and petiole fibers. This fiber is almost equal to the fiber extracted from Attalea funifera and Leopoldinia piassaba, which is called piassava.

Barcella is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in the States of Amazonas and Roraima in northwestern Brazil. The only known species is Barcella odora which is used by the Brazilian peoples in construction and for various thatched goods.

Brassiophoenix is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in Papua New Guinea. Of the two similar species, one is more common in cultivation and was mistakenly identified as Brassiophoenix schumannii. In 1999, Zona and Estig showed that the commonly cultivated species was instead the type species Brassiophoenix drymophoeoides. The two species are distinguished by their separated geographical locations and minor differences in fruit form. The genus name is a combination of the surname Brass, honoring the first collector L.J. Brass, and Phoenix, another palm genus.

<i>Dictyocaryum</i> Genus of palms

Dictyocaryum is a monoecious genus of flowering plant in the palm family found in South America. It is closely related to the genus Iriartea; they are commonly called araque or palma real. As many as eleven species have been described but this number is reduced to three in most current accounts. The genus name translates from two Greek words meaning "net" and "nut", describing the thick network of raphe fibers around the seed.

<i>Korthalsia</i> Genus of palms

Korthalsia is a clustering genus of flowering plant in the palm family spread throughout Southeast Asia. It is a highly specialized rattan with some species known to have an intimate relationship with ants, hence the common name ant rattan. High-climbing and armed with spines, the genus is named for the Dutch botanist P. W. Korthals who first collected them from Indonesia.

Laccosperma is a clustering genus of flowering plant in the family palm found in tropical Africa. Poorly studied and rarely cultivated, they are closely related to the genus Eremospatha and with it form a tribe in the Calameae characterized by dyads of hermaphrodite flowers. The genus name combines the Greek words for "reservoir" and "seed".

<i>Myrialepis</i> Genus of palms

Myrialepis is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family, the single species, Myrialepis paradoxa, native to Southeast Asia. The genus name is a combination of the Greek words meaning "innumerable" and "scale", a description of the fruit, and the epithet is Latin for "paradox".

Oncocalamus is a monoecious genus of flowering plants in the palm family found in western Africa. The genus is the lone member of the Oncocalaminae; once placed with the vegetatively similar Eremospatha and Laccosperma in the Ancistrophyllinae, it is now isolated based on their unusual flowers and arrangement. Such a placement argues for a long and complex evolutionary process in the Calamoideae with heavy extinction rates. The Greek genus name combines "horn" and "capsule".

<i>Oraniopsis</i> Genus of palms

Oraniopsis is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family from Queensland, Australia, where the only known species, Oraniopsis appendiculata, grows in mountainous rain forest. Dioecious and extremely slow growing, the name means "similar to Orania" and the Latin epithet translates to "appendaged".

Calamus erectus, also known as viagra palm and locally as tynriew, tara, and zhi li sheng teng, is a flowering shrub in the family Arecaceae. The specific epithet (erectus) refers to the plant's habit of growing straight rather than creeping or climbing like many species of the genus Calamus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Phoenix sylvestris". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  2. "Phoenix sylvestris". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  3. Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Portland: Timber Press. (Pages 405-406) ISBN   0-88192-558-6 / ISBN   978-0-88192-558-6