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Raffia palm

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Raffia palm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
(unranked):
Commelinids
Order:
Arecales
Family:
Arecaceae
Subfamily:
Calamoideae
Tribe:
Calameae
Genus:
Raphia

Species

See text

The Raffia palms (Raphia) are a genus of twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species (R. taedigera) also occurring in Central and South America. They grow up to 16 m (52.5 ft) tall and are remarkable for their compound pinnate leaves, the longest in the plant kingdom; leaves of R. regalis up to 25 m (82.38 ft) long[1] and 3 m (9.84 ft) wide are known. The plants are either monocarpic, flowering once and then dying after the seeds are mature, or hapaxanthic, with individual stems dying after fruiting but the root system remaining alive and sending up new stems.

Species

Fruits – Museum of Toulouse

Cultivation and uses

Raffia is often used to graft trees

Raffia fibres have many uses, especially in the area of textiles and in construction. In their local environments, they are used for ropes, sticks and supporting beams, and various roof coverings are made out of its fibrous branches and leaves. The membrane on the underside of each individual frond leaf is taken off to create a long thin fibre which can be dyed and woven as a textile into products ranging from hats to shoes to decorative mats. Plain raffia fibres are exported and used as garden ties or as a "natural" string in many countries. Especially when one wishes to graft trees, raffia is used to hold plant parts together as this natural rope has many benefits for this purpose [citation needed].

Raffia palm also provides an important cultural drink. The sap contains sugars. It is traditionally collected by cutting a box in the top of the palm and suspending a large gourd to collect the milky white liquid. Unlike oil palms, this process kills the tree. Sap from both the raffia and oil palms can be allowed to ferment over a few days. When first collected from the tree, it is sweet and appears slightly carbonated. As it ages more sugar is converted. The sap is usually called wine. The raffia wine tends to be sweeter at any age when compared to oil palm wine. Both kinds of palm wine can also be distilled into strong liquors, such as Ogogoro. Traditionally in some cultures where raffia and/or oil palm are locally available, guests and spirits are offered these drinks from the palm trees.

The raffia palm is important in societies such as that of the Province of Bohol in the Philippines, Kuba of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nso of Cameroon, the Igbo and Ibibio/Annang of southestern Nigeria and the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria, among several other West African ethnic nations.

References

  1. ^ Hallé, F. 1977. The longest leaf in palms? Principes 21: 18.
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