Difference between revisions of "Raphia sudanica"

Revision as of 05:14, 17 July 2014

Raphia (rahf-EE-ah) sudanica (soo-dahn-EE-kah)
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Scientific Classification
Genus: Raphia (rahf-EE-ah) Species: sudanica (soo-dahn-EE-kah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Africa
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Northern Rafia Palm, Dwarf Raphia Palm.

Habitat and Distribution

Native to: Benin; Burkina Faso; Côte d'Ivoire; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Mali; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone. Plant distributed widely in West tropical Africa (Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone). Swampy ground in savanna, wet ground, by rivers often forming thickets. (IUCN Red List) [[

Raphia sudanica is distributed from Senegal and Gambia eastwards to northern Nigeria. Plantations have been established in Nigeria. Raphia sudanica occurs in freshwater swamps and riverine forest in the savanna zone. It tolerates drier conditions than other Raphia spp. It is always gregarious and locally abundant, forming dense thickets. (PROTA)

Description

Monoecious palm, often clustering; trunk 2–3 (–10) m tall, stout, with irregular rings and covered with persistent leaf bases. Leaves pinnate, erect, up to 12 m long, sheathing at the base, glaucous-green; petiole relatively short, unarmed; rachis stout, unarmed, orange-yellow, later grey; leaflets linear-lanceolate, 50–75 cm long, stiff, single-fold, acuminate at the apex, lower surface waxy, margins and back of the midvein armed with straight, black spines about 5 mm long. Inflorescence axillary, up to 2.5 m long, dense, branched to 2 orders; first order branches about 20 cm long, with large, papery bracts holding flowering branchlets 3–4 cm long. Flowers unisexual; male flowers with calyx tubular and 3-lobed, petals long and narrow, sharply pointed, not thickened near the tip, stamens 10–12(–18), inserted on the corolla, filaments fused for half their length; female flowers with thin outer bracteole enclosing the calyx and corolla, and inner bracteole about half as long as calyx, calyx 3-lobed, slightly fimbriate, corolla cup-shaped for half its length, with 3 lobes, staminodes 9 (–18), in a short ring, ovary superior. Fruit obovoid, 5–8 cm × about 4.5 cm, with a blunt beak 4–8 mm long, covered with scales in (8–) 9–10 (–11) longitudinal rows; scales reddish or yellowish, with brown margins; mesocarp yellow. Seed ovoid, testa wrinkled and warty. (PROTA), Editing by edric.

A palm of swamping land in savanna country of the Sudan zone, often forming a thickets, with a stout trunk usually 6-10 feet but up to 25 feet high, and easily recognizable by its stiff, rather upright, leaves. (IUCN Red List)

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

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)

External Links

• Glossary of Palm Terms
• MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
• "Just To Be Clear"

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.

Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.

Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).

Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.