Difference between revisions of "Raphia sudanica"

Uses: The leaves are used for thatching. The petiole and rachis are used for house construction, furniture, ladders, paddles and canoe poles, and as fuel. They are split for making mats, baskets and arrow shafts. The leaflets are woven into mats, bags, baskets and fish traps. The upper epidermis of the leaflets (raffia fibre) is used for twine and wickerwork. The stem is used for structural woodwork. The apical bud is tapped for sap to be fermented into palm wine. The fruit and seed are eaten, and the yellow oil expressed from the pulp is used in cooking and as a hair-dressing. The fruit pulp is used as a fish poison. Plant ash is used to blacken masks. In Senegal a bark infusion is used for washing circumcision wounds, and a bark decoction as an abortifacient. The fruit oil is considered emetic and it is used internally and externally for the treatment of leprosy. (PROTA)

Production and international trade: Raphia sudanica is an important source of palm wine in Guinea and Nigeria. (PROTA)

Properties: The major fatty acids in the mesocarp oil and the seed lipids of Raphia sudanica are palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid. The mesocarp oil resembles that from oil palm in colour, taste, odour and chemical composition, except that it contains more linoleic acid, giving it a higher unsaturated acid content. (PROTA)

Conservation: The species is widespread in western Africa however, it is widely exploited and its habitat is also threatened by many activities, including loss of wetlands for crop farming and drought. The level of harvesting is increasing and the population is believed to be decreasing (at an unknown rate). More information is needed on the population decline and impacts of threats before the species can be fully assessed, it may be Near Threatened or Least Concern. It is listed as Data Deficient. Potentially impacted by agricultural development, harvesting and drought. (IUCN Red List)

Even though considered a dwarf among the Raphia, and often found to be stemless, this species can produce clumps of densely clustering trunks to 3 m (10 ft.) tall. The stiffly erect leaves can reach a length of 10 m (33 ft.) or so and hold numerous leaflets that are blue green above and a beautiful whitish waxy below. The seeds are considerably smaller than that of other Raphia. Like all Raphia, it likes water and even though it is adapted to savanna regions, it is always found along streams, in swamps or other areas with a high water table. Its size and vigor can vary considerably between populations according to the water at its disposal. Its distribution ranges from Senegal in western Africa to Cameroon, and supposedly to southern Sudan (?) In cultivation it is virtually unknown, though it would perhaps adapt better than other Raphia due to its more manageable size and higher drought tolerance. (RPS.com)