| Raffia palm | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Calamoideae |
| Tribe: | Lepidocaryeae |
| Genus: | Raphia P.Beauv. |
Raffia palms are members of the genus Raphia. The Malagasy name rafia is derived from fia "to squeeze juice".[2] The genus contains about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species (R. taedigera) also occurring in Central and South America.[1] R. taedigera is the source of raffia fibers, which are the veins of the leaves, and this species produces a fruit called "brazilia pods", "uxi nuts" or "uxi pods".[3]
They grow up to 16 metres (52 ft) tall and are remarkable for their compound pinnate leaves, the longest in the plant kingdom; leaves of R. regalis up to 25 metres (82 ft) long[4] and 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide are known. The plants are monocarpic, meaning that they flower once and then die after the seeds are mature. Some species have individual stems which die after fruiting, but have a root system which remains alive and sends up new stems which fruit.
- ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Boiteau, Pierre (1999). "rafia". Dictionnaire des noms malgaches de végétaux (in French). Vol. I. Editions Alzieu. p. 196.
- ^ Tucker, A.; Redford, A.; Scher, J.; Trice, M. (2010). "Raphia taedigera". Dried Botanical ID. Fort Collins, CO: Delaware State University, Identification Technology Program, CPHST, PPQ, APHIS, USDA. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ Hallé, F. 1977. The longest leaf in palms? Principes 21: 18.