Carpentaria palm
Carpentaria acuminata

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A medium sized palm. The trunk is smooth, slender and ringed with old leaf scars. Plants grow 10-30 m high and spreads 3-7 m across. The trunk is 15-30 cm thick. The leaf sheaths form a greyish-green crown-shaft 60-100 cm long. The palm has a small crown of arching fronds. Leaves are arching and dark green. They are feather-like and 2-4 m long. It has closely spaced strap like leaflets 20-60 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. The leaflets taper to a ragged end. The flowering stalks are 1.5 m long. The stalk is flattened. Several flowering stalks can occur at the same time. The flower stalks come from below the crown-shaft. The flowers are cup shaped and cream. They are about 1 cm across. Male and female flowers are produced on the same stalk. The fruit are yellow and red when ripe. They are oval with a pointed tip. They are 1-2 cm long by 15-18 mm wide. They have a thick, fleshy, juicy layer around one seed.

The juice from ripe fruit can damage skin. There is only one Carpentaria species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. They need a temperature above 13-15°C. It will grow on most soils. It needs a protected, warm, sunny position. It is damaged by drought and frost. It needs regular moisture and humidity. Plants are often on creek banks and low sites which are occasionally flooded. The soil needs to be well-drained. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia (country/location of origin), Indonesia, North America, SE Asia, USA

How it is used for food

The palm heart is edible but as this would kill the palm it is not normally eaten.

Edible parts

Heart, buds, cabbage, palm heart

How it is grown

Plants are grown from fresh seed. Seed germinate in 2-4 months. Seedlings are not easy to transplant. They should be re-potted regularly.

They grow quickly in hot, humid places.

Its other names

Local names

Jora, Palem carpentaria, Thora, Yigora, Yirrgi yirrgi

Synonyms

Kentia acuminata H. Wendl. & Drude;