Gelora sugar palm
Arenga undulatifolia

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A broad clumping palm. It grows to 4-9 m tall and spreads more widely than this. It develops many stems and these become a tangled group. They are covered with old leaf fibres. The leaves are long and wide. The crown spread 4.5 m wide. The leaves have wavy edges. They are blue-green. The leaflets are 70 cm long and 6-10 cm wide. The flowers grow among the leaves. The fruit is round and becomes dark purple when ripe. The fruit damage the skin. There are 3 seed in each fruit. These have one flattened face.

There are 17-20 Arenga species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in rainforest and up to 1,500 m above sea level. It occurs in Palawan, Balacbac, Mindanao, Cebu, southern Luzon and probably in some other islands of the Philippines. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. In Cairns Botanical Gardens.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Indonesia (country/location of origin), Malaysia (country/location of origin), Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Singapore

How it is used for food

The starch from the stem can be extracted and is edible. The bud is cooked and eaten.

Edible parts

Stem starch, cabbage, palm heart, buds

How it is grown

Plants are grown from fresh seed. The seed grow easily. They can also be grown from suckers.

It grows quickly.

Its other names

Local names

Ambung, Aping, Aren Gelora, Bo'

Synonyms

Arenga ambong Becc.; Saguerus undulatifolius (Becc.) Kuntze;