Phoenix loureirii Kunth (PALMAE)
Common names
Tamil: Inji.
Telugu: Konda-ita.
Description: Erect palms, up to 3 m tall and 15-25 cm diam.; densely covered with the bases of the fallen petioles; root suckers developing when the primary stem has been injured. Leaves pinnate 2-3 m long; leaflets entire, linear, 20-40 x 1 -2 cm, longitudinally folded; lower leaves often transformed into up to 8 cm long spines; petioles short, up to 2.5 cm broad. Flowers unisexual. Spadices ca 1 m long, erect, much branched; spathes 30-60 cm long. Calyx cup-shaped, 3-toothed. Corolla-lobes 3. Male flowers: numerous. Stamens 6; filaments very short; anthers linear. In female flowers, there are 3 or 4 staminodes. The ovary is 3-loculed with sessile stigmas. The fruiting spadix is approximately 1 m long, highly compressed, and orange. The fruit is a drupe, oblong-ellipsoid, measuring 1-2 cm in length, initially orange and turning black when ripe. Each fruit contains a solitary, pale brown seed.
Flowering & Fruiting: October – March.
Distribution: India: Throughout, in hilly dry regions, up to 2000 m. China.
Uses: The fruits are edible. The leaves are plaited into mats.