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Hyphaene dichotoma

IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened and Lower Risk/Near Threatened (NT)
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Hyphaene dichotoma (White) Furtado, Gard. Bull. Singapore 25: 301 1970. (syn: Borassus dichotomus White; Hyphaene indica Becc.; Hyphaene taprobanica Furtado);
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hy-FEN-ay-ee or HY-fen-ay — Greek: meaning woven; referring to the fibers on the fruit … Dave’s Botanary
dy-KAW-toh-muh — meaning branching, divided or forked in pairs … Dave’s Botanary

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commonly known as: branching palm, Indian doum palm, hoka tree, oka-mundel (archaic name) • Gujarati: દીવતાડ divtaad, હોકાતાડ hokaataad, માકાંબેરુ makamberu (archaic name), રાવણતાડ raavan taad • Konkani: रावण माड raavan maad • Marathi: रावण ताड raavan taad, रावण ताल raavan taal

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Images by Pravin Kawale & Renee Vyas (Inserted by J.M.Garg) (For more images & complete details,
click on the links) 

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Branching palm;
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Branching Palm:
Hyphaene dichotoma
and it’s fruit
Common names: Branching Palm
Ravan-maad, Sat-taad
Today at Alibag, Maharashtra

Had seen this fruit a couple of years ago at Kol Bot G among some leaf litter, I almost stumbled on it, searched the surrounding trees for any similar fruits, to no avail… fruit was exactly the color you showed, was hard, could not be crushed between fingers of palms of two hands… Its memory has been a mystery till today ….
Thanks now I know where to go and look for it…
(But originally where I had found it is not where these palms are planted, so some curious person may have picked it near the palms and discarded it where I found it)

This is common in Diu island.

There are couple of them at Godrej Baug – Malabar Hill and 2 at Shivaree (when you go to mud flats to see Flemingos, they are in the compound of State Excise Dept office), one at Kanjurmarg…in Mumbai.

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edible fruit of Branching Palm.JPG
fruits of Hyphaene dichotoma.JPG
Hyphaene dichotoma.JPG

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Hyphaene thebaica.
The branched palm from Alibag

I think this one from Alibag should be Hyphaene dichotoma (White) Furtado as per other postings from the area.

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At Nagaon beach near Alibag– 6 Dec, 2009; Branching Palm – efloraofindia | Google Groups

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Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado :: Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · JUN23 DV418: 1 image.

Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado
Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · 11:37 AM IST :: about 14 m (46 ft) asl
Many thanks to Radha Veach for validating the ID at iNaturalist.
Fallen fruits; germination failure
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Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado :: Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · JUN23 DV430: 1 image.

Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado
Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · 10:12 AM IST :: about 14 m (46 ft) asl
Many thanks to Radha Veach for validating the ID at iNaturalist

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Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado :: Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · JUN23 DV432: 9 images.

Hyphaene dichotoma ♂ (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado
Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · 10:53 AM IST :: about 14 m (46 ft) asl

Many thanks to Radha Veach for validating the ID at iNaturalist

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Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado :: Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · JUN23 DV433: 2 images.

Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado
Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · 10:45 AM IST :: about 14 m (46 ft) asl
Many thanks to Radha Veach for validating the ID at iNaturalist.
Fallen fruits

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Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado :: Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · JUN23 DV437: 10 images.

Hyphaene dichotoma ♀ (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado
Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · 10:17 AM IST :: about 14 m (46 ft) asl
Many thanks to Dr Aparna Watve for validating the ID at iNaturalist

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Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado :: Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · JUN23 DV438: 1 image.

Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado
Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · 10:14 AM IST :: about 14 m (46 ft) asl
Many thanks to Dr Aparna Watve for validating the ID at iNaturalist

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Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado :: Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · JUN23 DV439: 5 images.

Hyphaene dichotoma ♀ (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado
Shirgaon, Palghar :: Feb 26, 2023 · 10:11 AM IST :: about 14 m (46 ft) asl
Many thanks to Radha Veach for validating the ID at iNaturalist

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Names of Plants in India :: Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado: 1 image.
Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado

hy-FEN-ay-ee or HY-fen-ay — Greek: meaning woven; referring to the fibers on the fruit … Dave’s Botanary
dy-KAW-toh-muh — meaning branching, divided or forked in pairs … Dave’s Botanary

commonly known as: branching palm, Indian doum palm, hoka tree, oka-mundel (archaic name) • Gujarati: દીવતાડ divtaad, હોકાતાડ hokaataad, માકાંબેરુ makamberu (archaic name), રાવણતાડ raavan taad • Konkani: रावण माड raavan maad • Marathi: रावण ताड raavan taad, रावण ताल raavan taal

botanical names: Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado … homotypic synonyms: Borassus dichotomus D.White bis ex Nimmo … heterotypic synonyms: Hyphaene indica Becc. • Hyphaene taprobanica Furtado … POWO, retrieved 15 January 2026

Bibliography / etymology
Links listed as references in the notes below, may not remain valid permanently. Portals / websites have a tendency to re-organize / revise their content, leading to change in URLs of pages in their site. Some sites may even close down at their own will. The bits about the languages of India mentioned below are merely some bare facts gathered from the internet; just enough to satisfy curiosity about “where” could the listed names be best prevalent in India. All English transliterated names to be taken sensu amplo.

~~~~~ ENGLISH ~~~~~
written and spoken widely, in most parts of India
branching palm, Indian doum palm
  • Marselin R Almeida, Naresh Chaturvedi – Trees of Mumbai – Bombay Natural History Society (1st Ed. 2006)
hoka tree
  • Flowers of India, retrieved January 15, 2026
  • Hoka Tree – Experiencing Diu – Through the Eyes of RA … (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
  • or hoka palm tree … Hoka palm trees – Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Division – ICH Archive … (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
  • Google’s AI Overview about this name’s etymology:
    1. While often used simply as a proper name for the species, in some local Gujarati contexts, the word hoka (or hokka) can colloquially refer to something that is “crazy” or “mad”, likely referring to the tree’s unusual and irregular branching pattern which distinguishes it from typical straight-trunked palms.
    2. This name in all probability, named for the Okhamandal region (tip of the Saurashtra peninsula near Dwarka), which is a native habitat for this palm.
oka-mundel (archaic name)
  • John Graham · 1839 · A Catalogue of the Plants Growing in Bombay and Its Vicinity – Government Press … (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
  • Google’s AI Overview about this name: Oka-mundel is an historically documented local name, found in early botanical texts like those from the 19th century, it is rarely used by locals today. It is likely derived from the Okhamandal region (tip of the Saurashtra peninsula near Dwarka), which is a native habitat for this palm.
~~~~~ GUJARATI ~~~~~
written in: Gujarati (ગુજરાતી) … spoken in: Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu
દીવતાડ div taad, રાવણતાડ raavan taad
  • Biological Diversity of Gujarat – published by Gujarat Ecology Commission … (accessed on: Dec 16, 2020)
  • Amar Shri Ratilal P. Chandaria’s Gujarati Lexicon – the most comprehensive Gujarati language resource … (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
હોકાતાડ hokaataad
  • Amar Shri Ratilal P. Chandaria’s Gujarati Lexicon – the most comprehensive Gujarati language resource … (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
  • This name in all probability, named for the Okhamandal region (tip of the Saurashtra peninsula near Dwarka), which is a native habitat for this palm.
માકાંબેરુ makamberu (archaic name, was prevalent in Daman)
  • Sheshagiri Rao Rolla (1970) The Doum Palms in India … (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
  • Google’s AI Overview about this name’s etymology:
    1. The name makamberu is almost certainly of Swahili (East African) origin, brought to the Indian coast via the Portuguese maritime trade routes.
    2. Daman and Diu were key nodes in the Portuguese State of India (Estado da Índia), which heavily traded with Mozambique and the East African coast. It is highly probable that African sailors or the Siddi community (Indians of African descent) brought both the seeds and the original African name to Daman.
~~~~~ KONKANI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (कोंकणी) / Kannada (ಕೊಂಕಣಿ) / Malayalam (കൊങ്കണി) / Perso-Arabic (کونکنی) / Romi (Konknni) … spoken in: Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat
रावण माड raavan maad
  • name coined from Marathi, for want of name
~~~~~ MARATHI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (मराठी) … spoken in: Maharashtra, Karnataka
रावण ताड raavan taad
रावण ताल raavan taal
~~~~~ KNOWN DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
*Andhra Pradesh, Dadra and Diu and Daman, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra

* no given name / no name found in the regional language(s) of the state

~~~~~ Created on: 09:51 15-01-2026 ¦ Last updated: 23:54 15-01-2026 (DD-MM-YYYY) ~~~~~

 

 

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References:

The Plant List  Wikipedia   IUCN Red List (NT)  Dave’s Garden
Updated on February 4, 2026

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