Phoenix sylvestris

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Phoenix sylvestris
At Purbasthali in Bardhaman District of West Bengal, India.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Genus: Phoenix Species: P. sylvestris
Binomial name
Phoenix sylvestris [Roxb.]]

Phoenix sylvestris (sylvestris - Latin, of the forest) also known as Silver Date Palm or Sugar Date Palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family native to southern Pakistan and most of India. Growing in plains and scrubland to 1300 m, the fruit from this palm species is used to make wine and jelly. The sap is tapped and drunk fresh or fermented into toddy. The fresh sap is boiled to make palm jaggery in West Bengal state of India.

Contents 1 Description 2 References 3 External links 4 Gallery

[edit] Description

P. sylvestris ranges from 4 to 8 m in height and 40 cm in diameter; not as large as the Canary Island Date Palm, but nearly so, and resembling it. The leaves are 3 m long, gently recurved, on 1 m petioles with acanthophylls near the base. The leaf crown grows to 10 m wide and 7.5 to 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.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• P. sylvestris photos
• PACSOA Link
• NPGS / GRIN

[edit] Gallery

Tree with female flowers at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Female flowers at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Tree with male flowers at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Tree with male flowers at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Lower trunk at Purbasthali in Bardhaman District of West Bengal, India.