Taraw palm, Serdang palm
Livistona saribus

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A large fan palm. It grows up to 20 m high and 20 cm across the trunk. The trunk is pale grey. The trunk has rings along it. The leaves are fan shaped. They are 1.5 m across. The leaves are irregularly parted with deep segments. The leaf stalks are reddish to orange. The leaf stalks are armed with very small robust spines. The flowers are stalkless and in small groups on small branches. The fruit are round or very slightly kidney shaped and blue. They are 11 to 15 mm across. They occur in large clusters.

There are 28 Livistona species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It will grow in the subtropics. They grow in groups in large numbers in open places in the Cagayan Valley in the Philippines. in southern China it grows in lowland rain forests often in places that are occasionally flooded between 600-1,100 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 9-12. In XTBG Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Cambodia, China, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The bud is eaten cooked. The very hard layer of the fruit is crushed in salt and vinegar solution then eaten.

It is sold in local markets.

Edible parts

Bud, cabbage, fruit, palm heart, nuts, sap

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Seed germinate in 2-4 months.

Its other names

Local names

Ao ye, Chu, Guo, La non, Ma guo, Mak kho, Palem kipas, Sah, Sail, Serdak, Serdang, Seredang, Tarau, Tro

Synonyms

Corypha saribus Lour; Livistona cochinchinensis (Blume) Mart. [Illegitimate]; and others