Hyphaene coriacea, the lala palm or ilala palm[1] is a species of palm tree native to the eastern Afrotropics.[2] It occurs in eastern Africa from Somalia to Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, and is also found in the coastal flats of Madagascar and on Juan de Nova Island in the Mozambique Channel Islands.
The spongy pulp of the hard, brown fruit is edible and the fruit is eaten and sold in Madagascar[3] and in eastern Africa; its Swahili name is Mkoma. The flavour has been compared to raisins and raisin bran.