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Borassus aethiopum
Arecaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Borassus aethiopum

Borassus aethiopum

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

A plant of hot, tropical climates with low to medium rainfall, usually at elevations below 400 metres, but up to 1,200 metres in east Africa[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 35°c, but can tolerate 15 - 45°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 1,000mm, but tolerates 400 - 1,200mm[2]. Requires a well drained soil and a position in full sun[3]. It is usually found in sandy, well-drained soils, but prefers alluvial soils near watercourses[2]. Plants are able to extract nutrients, and thus grow, on very nutrient-poor soils[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.5[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant[3]. A slow-growing but long lived tree to over 100 years old[4]. Three phases of growth are recognized. The first phase, taking around 6 - 8 years, involves leaf development, in which about 20 leaves grow in a wide crown around 3 metres by 3 metres. Very little upward growth takes place at this time. The second phase involves rapid growth of the trunk above the ground and takes place around the ages of 8 - 20 years. The bark of the tree is still rough at this stage and have many leaf stalks. The third phase, from about 20 years onwards, involves flowering and shedding of leafstalks. The trunk becomes smooth and swellings appear on it[5]. The plant usually flowers and produces fruit all year round[5]. The flowering stems are tapped for their sap, a process that starts when the tree is about 30 years old. Tapping is sometimes carried on continuously until the tree dies, though if the tree is allowed to rest for two years between tappings the process can continue for another 30 years ior more. Yields of 2 litres of sap per day can be achieved[6, 7]. Plants are very tolerant of forest fires[2]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Propagation

Seed - it has a short viability and should be sown as soon as it is removed from the fruit pulp[4]. The seed does not require pre-treatment and germinated in about 4 weeks. The plant produces a very long taproot, which can be 1 metre long when top growth is only 1cm tall, and so it is best sown in situ[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Borassus+aethiopum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia. — http://www.pacsoa.org.au/ ↩︎Contains at least a little information on the majority of palm and cycad species, plus a wealth of photographs. A first class website.
  4. [4]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  5. [5]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  6. [6]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  7. [7]Trees and Shrubs of the Sahel. Their Characteristics and Uses. — von Maydell H. · Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit; Germany · 1990 · ISBN 3-8236-1198-4 ↩︎A well-researched book, usually with more than one photograph of each species and good information on the plant and its uses.
  8. [8]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
  9. [9]Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania — Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. · Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. · 2002 · ISBN 9966-896-60-0 ↩︎A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.
  10. [10]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  11. [11]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  12. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎