Borassus aethiopum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Arecales

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Coryphoideae
Tribus: Borasseae
Subtribus: Lataniinae
Genus: Borassus
Species: Borassus aethiopum
Name

Borassus aethiopum Mart., 1838
Synonyms

Homotypic
Borassus flabellifer var. aethiopum (Mart.) Warb. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas, B: 20 (1895).
Heterotypic
Borassus sambiranensis Jum. & H.Perrier, Ann. Mus. Colon. Marseille, sér. 3, 1: 67 (1913).
Borassus aethiopum var. bagamojense Becc., Webbia 4: 337 (1914).
Borassus aethiopum var. senegalense Becc., Webbia 4: 334 (1914).
Borassus deleb Becc., Webbia 4: 339 (1914).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Africa
Regional: Tropical Africa
Benin; Burkina; Cameroon; Central African Repu; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Ethiopia; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Gulf of Guinea Is.; Ivory Coast; Kenya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Niger; Nigeria; Northern Provinces; Senegal; Sudan; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zare; Zimbabwe

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Martius, C.F.P. von , 1838. Hist. Nat. Palm. 3: 221

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Borassus aethiopum in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 15. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Borassus aethiopum. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 15 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Borassus aethiopum in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 15.
Tropicos.org 2018. Borassus aethiopum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Dec. 15.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Borassus aethiopum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Borassuspalm
አማርኛ: Zembaba
العربية: Deleib, Delieb
bem: Chibangalala, Kakoma, Kambili
be: Chibangalala, Kakoma, Kambili
Deutsch: Äthiopische Palmyrapalme
English: African fan palm, Borassus palm, Deleb palm, Palmyra palm, Ron palm
Fulfulde: Dubbe, Dubbi
suomi: Etiopianpalmyrapalmu
français: Rônier
Hausa: Giginya
Igbo: Ubiri
Luganda: Katugu, Katuugo, Ntungo, Ntunku
Silozi: Kankoma, Mukulwani, Mulala
mnk: Nyalango, Rhun, Sibo
nyj: Chipamba, Kakoma, Mlaza
Kiswahili: Mchapa, Mtappa, Mvomo
lea faka-Tonga: Kahuma, Kalala, Kankunka, Mapokwe, Muhuma, Mulala
Wolof: Ron
Yorùbá: Abgon-eye

Borassus aethiopum is a species of Borassus palm from Africa. In English it is variously referred to as African fan palm, African palmyra palm, deleb palm, ron palm, toddy palm, black rhun palm, rônier palm (from the French). It is widespread across much of tropical Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to northern South Africa, though it is largely absent from the forested areas of Central Africa and desert regions such as the Sahara and Namib. This palm also grows in northwest Madagascar and the Comoros.[2][3]

Description

The typical form of Borassus aethiopum is a solitary palm to 25 metres (82 ft) in height and 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) in diameter at the base. In the river bottoms (floodplains) of many East African rivers (the Rufiji in Tanzania and the Tana in Kenya among others) a closely related form can be up to seven feet (2.1 meters) thick at breast height (4 feet (1.2 meters) above ground) and having the same thickness in its upper ventricosity. It also has a height of up to 100 feet (30.5 meters)[4][5][6] The fan-shaped leaves are 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide (larger, to 12 feet (3.66 meters) in the bottomlands form) with petioles 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) long; the margins are armed with spines. In male plants, the small flowers are largely concealed within the scaly catkins; the much larger female flowers reach 2 centimetres (0.79 in) wide and produce yellow to brown fruits. Each fruit contains 1-3 seeds, each enclosed within a woody endocarp.[7] The floodplains variety is almost certainly the most massive of all palms.
Uses

The tree has many uses: the fruit are edible, as are the tender roots produced by the young plant;[8] fibres can be obtained from the leaves; and the wood (which is reputed to be termite-proof) can be used in construction.[9]
See also

Great Mosque of Djenné (example of use of wood in construction)

References

The Plant List, Borassus aethiopum Mart.
"World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
AFPD. 2008. African Flowering Plants Database - Base de Donnees des Plantes a Fleurs D'Afrique.
Dr. Al C. Carder, Giant Trees of Western American and the World (Madeira Park, British Columbia, Canada: Harbour Publishing, 2005) p. 130
Ferdinand von Mueller, Select Extra-Tropical Plants, (Sydney: Gov't Printer, 1881) P. 50. Quoting: Lt. Col. James A. Grant and Daniel Oliver, The Botany of the Speke and Grand Expedition (London: R. Taylor, 1875)
Reinhard Kunkel, Elephants (New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc. Publishers, 1982) Color Plate pp. 100-101 Adult elephants give size comparison. Caption (p. 242) mistakenly calls these "oil palms".
Bayton, Ross P. (2007). "A revision of Borassus L. (Arecaceae)". Kew Bulletin. 62: 561–586.
Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). "Deleb palm" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company.
Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.