The palm tree is a kind of plant that has been widely grown in Cambodia for a long time ago. The palm tree, commonly known as Borassus flabellifer in scientific name and in Khmer called “Tnaot”, is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Lao, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
It is a robust tree and can reach a height of 30 meters. The trunk is grey, robust, and ringed with leaf scars; old leaves remain attached to the trunk for several years before falling cleanly. The leaves are fan-shaped and 3 m long, with robust black teeth on the petiole margins. It is dioecious with male and female flowers on separate plants. The male flowers are less than 1 cm long and form semi-circular clusters, which are hidden beneath scale-like bracts within the catkin-like inflorescences. In contrast, the female flowers are golf ball-sized and solitary, sitting upon the surface of the inflorescence axis. After pollination, these blooms develop into fleshy fruits 15–25 cm wide, each containing 1-3 seeds. The fruits are black to brown with sweet, fibrous pulp and each seed is enclosed within a woody endocarp. Young Palmyra seedlings grow slowly, producing only a few leaves each year (establishment phase), but at an as yet undetermined time, they grow rapidly, producing a substantial stem.
0 Comments