Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr., Interpr. Herb. Amboin. 119 1917. (Syn: Arenga gamuto Merr.; Arenga griffithii Seem. ex H.Wendl.; Arenga saccharifera Labill. ex DC.; Borassus gomutus Lour.; Caryota onusta Blanco; Gomutus rumphii Corrêa; Gomutus saccharifer (Labill. ex DC.) Spreng.; Gomutus vulgaris Oken; Saguerus gamuto Houtt. [Invalid]; Saguerus pinnatus Wurmb; Saguerus rumphii (Corrêa) Roxb.; Saguerus rumphii (Corrêa) Roxb. ex Ainslie; Saguerus saccharifer (Labill. ex DC.) Blume; Sagus gomutus (Lour.) Perr.);
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Assam to C. Malesia: Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaya, Myanmar, Philippines, Sulawesi, Thailand; Introduced into: Andaman Is., Benin, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Hawaii, India, Lesser Sunda Is., Maluku, New Guinea, Trinidad-Tobago (from POWO);
. Arenga pinnata (syn. Arenga saccharifera) is an economically important feather palm native to tropical Asia, from eastern India east to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the east.[1] Common names include sugar palm, arenga palm, areng palm, black-fiber palm, gomuti palm, aren, enau, irok, and kaong.
It is a medium-sized palm, growing to 20 m tall, with the trunk remaining covered by the rough old leaf bases. The leaves are 6–12 m long and 1.5 m broad, pinnate, with the pinnae in 1–6 rows, 40–70 cm long and 5 cm broad. The fruit is subglobose, 7 cm diameter, green maturing black.[2]
It is not a threatened species, though it is locally rare in some parts of its range. It serves as an important part of the diet of several endangered species, including cloud rats of the genus Phloeomys.
The sap is harvested for commercial use in southeast Asia, yielding a sugar known in India as gur or in Indonesia as gula aren, and is also fermented into vinegar and wine.
The immature fruits are widely consumed in the Philippines (called kaong) and Indonesia (called buah kolang-kaling or buah tap) and are made into canned fruits after boiling them in sugar syrup.
The dark fibrous bark (known as doh in India) is manufactured into cordage. In Indonesia the black fibres surrounding the trunk, called ijuk fibres, are used as the organic roof material common in Indonesian vernacular architecture. According to the study on bas-reliefs of Javanese ancient temples such as Borobudur, this type of roof are known in ancient Java vernacular architecture. It can be found today in Balinese temple roof architecture and Minangkabau Rumah Gadang gonjong horn-like curved roof architecture, such as those found in Pagaruyung Palace. The ijuk fibres can also be made into rope, used in brooms, or used as filters to clear the water.
Elaeis guineensis Jacq. : 8 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (3)- around 650 kb each. Location: Hong Kong Park
Date: 15 August 2018
Elevation: 200 ft.
Habit : Cultivated
Looks different from images at Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Pl. check for some Arenga species.
Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. ??
I think looks different from images at Arenga pinnata
Two species are reported in the Hong Kong Plant database.
Arenga engleri looks different. May be Arenga pinnata
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