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Caryota urens
Arecaceae FAMILY

Caryota urens

Caryota urens

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The fruit is capable of irritating the skin and causing a burning sensation[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Plants are found in moist tropical climates where temperatures never fall below 10°c, the average annual rainfall is 1,500mm or more and the driest month has 25mm or more rain[2]. They can also succeed in warm temperate zones and in drier areas with an annual rainfall as low as 250mm and one month or more where rainfall is below 25mm[2, 3]. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of 5°c or lower[4]. Plants grow well in full sun, even when small[2]. Prefers a moist, shady situation[5, 4]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 5.5 - 8[4]. A slow-growing plant[5]. A monocarpic species, living for several years without flowering, but then dying once it has flowered[6]. It attains full size in about 10 - 15 years, and then flowers for another 5 or more years[4]. It flowers from the top down, and once the last fruit on the bottom inflorescence matures, the plant dies.[3]. The daily yield per tree of sap for wine and sugar can be 20 - 27 litres[5]. When flowering begins, the inflorescence is stimulated to produce juice; the inflorescence is then bound into a 'candle' form and tapped for its sweet juice by repeatedly slicing off the end of the candle. A tapping period may last for 10 - 15 years before the tree dies[5]. Harvest for sago and other purposes is mainly from wild and semi-wild populations. The trunk yields 100 - 150 kilos of starch. Usually harvests for timber occurs when the tapping period has ended[5].

Propagation

Seed - At room temperature the seeds remain viable for 30 - 90 days, depending on storage conditions. An experiment in Sri Lanka on the effect of seed storage and exposure to sunlight revealed a germination rate of 99% for seeds sown after 30-day storage in a dark room[5]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Caryota+urens>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Flora of Pakistan — http://www.efloras.org ↩︎As of 2006, there is not much information on habitats available, but it is being developed and promises to be an excellent resource.
  2. [2]Palms of the World — Blombery. A. & Rodd. T. · Angus and Robertson · 1992 · ISBN 0-207-14848-1 ↩︎An excellent guide, well illustrated, with information on cultivation, uses, habitat etc of almost 200 species of Palms.
  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]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.
  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]Tropical Ornamentals; A Guide — Whistler. W. Arthur. · Timber Press Inc. Oregon. · 2000 · ISBN 0-88192-448-2 ↩︎An excellent little guide to some of the more commonly cultivated ornamental plants of the Tropics, often giving some information on the plants other uses.
  7. [7]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  8. [8]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  9. [9]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.
  10. [10]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  11. [11]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]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.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎