Phoenix Sylvestris
Family : Arecaceae
Common Name : Wild Date Palm, date-sugar palm, Indian wild date
English Name : Wild Date Palm, date-sugar palm, Indian wild date
Hindi Name : Khajur, Sendhi, Chhind
Telugu Name : Ita
Bengali Name : Kharjura, Khejura
Tree Characteristics :
Wild Date Palm is the wild cousin of the better known Date Palm. It looks the same in almost every way, but shorter height at maturity. It varies from 4 to 8 m in height and 40 cm in diameter. The leaves are 3 m long, gently recurved, on 1 m petioles with spines near the base. The leaf crown grows to 10 m wide and 7.5-10 m tall containing up to 100 leaves. The inflorescence grows to 1 metre with white, unisexual flowers forming to a large, pendent infructescence. The single-seeded fruit ripens to a purple-red colour, and is eaten in India.
Nursery Practice :
Seed - probably best sown as soon as it is ripe in containers, otherwise sow the seed as soon as you obtain it. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 months.
Economic Uses :
Ø Fruit. A sweet flavor.
Ø Sap - it can be concentrated into a syrup or fermented into alcohol. One of the main sources of sugar in Bengal. The sap is obtained from the unopened inflorescence. The tip of this is cut off and the sap then flows from this cut. The flow can be up to 5 litres a day for several months, it contains about 14% sugar.
Ø The leaves are used for making bags and mats.
