Corypha umbraculifera L. (PALMAE)
Common names
Kannada: Sritale.
Tulu: Pane, Panoli.
Malayalam: Kodapana.
Description: Unarmed palms, 10-25 m tall, 0.5-1 m diam., annulate, dying after once flowering and ripening their seed, at the age of between 20-40 years. leaves 2-5 m in diam., plicate, cleft the middle into 80-100 linear-lanceolate acute or 2-fid lobes; petioles 1-3 m long, stout; the margins armed with short, compressed, dark-colored spines. Spadix pyramidal, 3-6 m long; spathes pierced by the primary branches of the spadix, forming pendulous spikes. Flowers small, bisexual. Calyx broadly 3-lobed. Petals 3. Stamens 6; filaments subulate; anthers dorsifixed. Ovary 3-loculed; style short; stigma minute. The fruit is a drupe, round in shape, approximately 4 centimeters in diameter. The seed is typically solitary, spherical, hard, smooth, and polished.
Flowering & Fruiting: Once in its life time (Between 20-40 years).
Distribution: India: Western Peninsula and Andamans. Sri Lanka.
Uses:
- The pith is used for flour. The base of the trunk is used for making drums. A fibre similar to Kittul (Caryota urens) fibre can be prepared from the fibro-vascular strands. Often planted in gardens. The leaves are used for thatching, baskets, mats, fans, umbrellas etc. and sacred. Buddhists books written on strips with metal styles.
- Processed strips of leaves are used for making ornamental braids and straw and leghorn hats. The seeds, as hard as ivory, are employed in crafting beads, buttons, and various decorative items. They can be dyed to imitate coral and utilized in ornamental pieces. Moreover, the powdered young fruit is used to stun or sedate fish.
