Ivory Coast Raffia Palm
Raphia hookeri

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

Raphia hookeri or commonly known as Ivory Coast Raffia Palm is a palm species native to Africa that can be about 10m in height. It is characterized by its compound pinnate leaves with each leaf reaching about 12m long, shiny dark green, and feather-like. It is a solitary palm and usually up to 30cm in stem diameter. The flowers and the top-shaped fruits are brown in color. A monocarpic plant, Ivory Coast Raffia Palm produces inflorescence only once then dies. The fruit is used in traditional medicine as laxative and liniment for pains. The plant has edible uses. Sap from the trunk is fermented into palm wine and fruits are boiled and eaten. The fruits, however, are poisonous if consumed raw. Other edible parts are the apical bud, starch obtained from the stem, and fruit oil. Further, among its many uses, Ivory Coast Raffia Palm is a source of a soft but strong fiber which is used to make mats, hats, baskets, hammocks, etc. Such fiber can also be made into paper. The leaves are used as thatching material while the leaf midribs and leaf stalks are used as poles and to construct the framework of houses. The wood is used for construction.

Raphia hookeri is an evergreen Tree growing to 10 m (32ft) by 7 m (23ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 10

Where it is found

Lowland coastal freshwater swamps, where it can grow in water up to 1 metre deep, and river banks. The soils of Nigerian freshwater swamps are light textured and generally acidic.

Western tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to Central African Republic and Zaire, south to Angola.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Equatorial Guinea; Congo; Angola; Côte d'Ivoire; Liberia; Nigeria; Sierra Leone; Central African Republic; Cameroon; Gambia; Gabon; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Benin; Ghana; Guinea; Togo, Africa, Asia, Australia, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, India, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, West Africa,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

The sap from the trunk is fermented to make palm wine, which is a very popular drink in west Africa. When fresh, the sap tastes like ginger beer. The alcohol content of the sap increases from less than 2% to about 5% during the first 8 days of tapping, remaining constant thereafter. It is obtained from the inflorescence. It is tapped from the stem when the tree nears the flowering stage. The sap can be obtained either by cutting down the trunk and allowing the sap to drain out, or by boring a hole in the trunk near the apex. Palm wine is obtained by piercing the base of the terminal bud, which leads eventually to the death of the palm. The wine is distilled into a strong alcoholic liquor and can also be used as bakers' yeast. Fruit - boiled and eaten. Poisonous raw. The apical bud is cooked and used like cabbage. Harvesting this bud will eventually cause the death of the trunk because it is unable to make side branches. An edible starch is obtained from the stem. An oil is obtained from the fruit.

Apical bud: Typically, the end of a shoot contains an apical bud, which is the location where shoot growth occurs.

Oil: Oil

Sap: usually of trees and usually but not always used as a drink.

Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Sweetener: includes sugar substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The oily mesocarp of the fruit is used in traditional medicine for its laxative and stomachic properties and as a liniment for pains.

Laxative: Stimulates bowel movements in a fairly gentle manner.

Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.

Other

Rating: 4

Agroforestry Uses: In Nigeria, the plant sometimes serves as support for yams. In Benin, tomatoes, cassava, sugar cane, red pepper and other crops are sometimes grown on earth ridges in Raphia hookeri swamps. Other Uses Raffia, a soft but strong fibre, is obtained by pulling off ribbon-like strips from the upper surface of the leaflets of young unfolding leaves. It is used to make mats, hats, baskets, bags, ropes, hammocks, ceremonial costumes, etc. It may be woven into cloth. In Europe it is used as tying material for horticulture and handicrafts. Raffia fibre has been considered as a potential source of pulp for paper production. The tough fibre (known as piassava) obtained from the petioles and leaf sheaths, is used for making brooms. It is used for the roller brushes employed in sweeping streets; for making mats, bags, hammocks, ropes, etc. A tough, weather-resistant, coarse rope can also be made from this fibre. Piassava fibre is also used to make exceptionally strong paper. A very fine-textured charcoal, much favoured for the manufacture of home-made gunpowder, can be made from the fibre. Piassava fibre is water resistant, hard-wearing, and has the right balance between stiffness and elasticity to give a firm stroke to a broom and sufficient spring action to make the broom self-cleaning. Mature leaves yield higher quality piassava fibre than younger leaves. The large midribs of the leaves, and the leaf stalks, are widely used by native people to construct the framework of houses, as poles for various uses and for making into furniture, ladders etc. They can be split into strips for maing screens, weaving into mats, baskets etc. The leaves, split lengthwise, are used for thatching, though they last only 1 year. They are also used to make mats, baskets and other articles of wickerwork, and are used for hut-walls and fences. Wood - used for construction. The stem can be used in house-building, both for the framework and roof-poles and also for furniture frames; the outer splints are used for heavy mat screens, hut partitions and ceilings. The wood can be used after the sap has been allowed to drain.

Basketry: Plant used in making baskets and other items such as chairs. Includes plants that are only used as an ornamental addition.

Broom: Used for sweeping the floor etc.

Charcoal: Used for fuel, drawing, deodorant, filter, fertilizer etc.

Fencing: Plants that can be used for fencing.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.

Plant support: Usually bamboos, used as canes in the garden for holding up plants.

Roofing: Used to give a waterproof roof to buildings. See also Thatching.

String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.

Thatching: Used for making thatched roofs.

Weaving: Items such as grass and palm leaves that are woven together for making mats, baskets etc. See also Basket making and Fibre.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Oil: (0-15 percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Some of these are consumed whole while others are exclusively pressed for oil. Annuals include canola, poppyseed, maize, cottonseed, sunflower, peanut. Perennials include high-oil fruits, seeds, and nuts, such as olive, coconut, avocado, oil palm, shea, pecan, and macadamia. Some perennial oil crops are consumed whole as fruits and nuts, while others are exclusively pressed for oil (and some are used fresh and for oil).

Staple Crop: Sugar: Perennial sugar crops include sugarcane and compare favorably to annuals.

Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Oil: (0-15 percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Some of these are consumed whole while others are exclusively pressed for oil. Annuals include canola, poppyseed, maize, cottonseed, sunflower, peanut. Perennials include high-oil fruits, seeds, and nuts, such as olive, coconut, avocado, oil palm, shea, pecan, and macadamia. Some perennial oil crops are consumed whole as fruits and nuts, while others are exclusively pressed for oil (and some are used fresh and for oil).

Staple Crop: Sugar: Perennial sugar crops include sugarcane and compare favorably to annuals.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

A plant of the wet, lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 200 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 24 - 30°c, but can tolerate 14 - 36°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 3,000 - 4,000mm, but tolerates 2,000 - 5,000mm. Requires a hot, sunny position in a moist soil. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 6.5. Dislikes saline soils. Plants can tolerate being in flooded ground. A monocarpic plant - growing for several years without flowering, then producing a massive inflorescence and dying after setting seed. Inflorescences are produced more or less simultaneously in the axils of the most distal leaves. Tapping for wine may damage the developing inflorescence, making flowering impossible and accelerating death. The time from planting to flowering in Raphia hookeri is 3 - 7 years. Managed stands are mostly left to rejuvenate naturally by seed. In Nigeria, selected trees are left untapped for this purpose.

Propagating it: Seed - pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and sow in containers. The seed requires several months to germinate. The germination period may range from 1 - 24 months, and the germination rate from 30 - 60%. Young plants are easily transplanted. It has been claimed that seeds should be sown ventral side upwards, because the embryo is located on this side, but research has shown that seed orientation does not influence germination or seedling growth.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

The raw fruit is poisonous and is crushed for use as fish poison.

Its other names

Local names

Gba'baka, Ivory Coast raphia palm, Raffia palm, Wine palm,

Synonyms

Raphia angolensis Rendle Raphia gigantea A.Chev. Raphia longirostris Becc. Raphia maxima Pechu?l-Loe