Corypha utan explained

Corypha utan, the cabbage palm, buri palm or gebang palm, is a species of palm native to Asia and Oceania.

Description

It grows up to 20m (70feet) tall, and, on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, up to 1.5 meters (4' 11") thick[1] (exceeded only by Borassus aethiopum and Jubaea chilensis) and bears palmate fronds NaNm (-2,147,483,648feet) long. Like other palms of the genus Corypha, this species flowers at the end of its lifetime (monocarpy), producing a massive inflorescence up to 5 m tall containing up to one million flowers.[2]

Distribution and habitat

It is distributed from the Assam region of India through Indochina, Malaysia, and Indonesia to the Philippines and New Guinea, and south to Australia's Cape York Peninsula. Growing along watercourses, floodplains and grasslands, the Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia write about the Corypha utan palms occurring in Cape York:

Corypha utan .. is undoubtedly one of the most imposing species in the Australian palm flora (with its massive pachycaul trunks and hapaxanthic flowering and fruiting extravaganza.[3]

Uses

The starch contained inside the trunk is edible raw or cooked, as is the tip-top. The flowering stalks can be beaten to produce liquid. The nut kernels are also edible.[4]

In Lamakera, its (ketebu) leaves are made into fibres weaved with sea hibiscus bark to make rope for whaling harpoons.[5]

Locally known as buri or buli in the Philippines, the leaves of Corypha utan are widely used in weaving fans, baskets, and mats.[6] [7] Additionally, in Isla Verde, Batangas where this palm tree grows abundantly, Corypha utan sap is extracted, cooked and made into the sweet delicacy called "Pakaskas".[8] [9]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tucker, Robert . 1988 . Palms of Subequatorial Queensland . Milton, QLD . Palm and Cycad Society of Australia . 28.
  2. http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Corypha/utan.html Corypha utan Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia web page
  3. http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Corypha/utanQ.html Corypha utan On Cape York Peninsula, Queensland Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia web page
  4. Book: The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants . . . 2009 . 978-1-60239-692-0 . New York . 35 . en-US . 277203364.
  5. Barnes . R. H. . 1996 . Lamakera, Solor. Ethnographic Notes on a Muslim Whaling Village of Eastern Indonesia . Anthropos . 91 . 1/3 . 75–88 . 40465273.
  6. Web site: Philippine Medicinal Plants: Buri. www.stuartxchange.org.
  7. M.. Queypo-Queddeng. J.. Puzon. Development. Rabena, A.R., University of Northern Philippines, Vigan City 2700 (Philippines). Research and. 2010-01-01. Multipurpose use of buri (Corypha elata Roxb. or Corrypha utan) and its nutritive value. Philippine Journal of Crop Science (Philippines). English. 0115-463X.
  8. Web site: meryenda . The Peculiar Life of a Buri Palm . 2023-01-20 . meryenda.substack.com . en.
  9. Web site: DOST BRINGS S&T TO VERDE ISLAND, PAKASKAS UNDERGO IMPROVEMENT . 2023-01-20 . www.science.ph.