Salacca

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Salacca
Salacca zalacca fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Subfamily: Calamoideae Tribe: Calameae Genus: Salacca Reinw.
Species
Salacca affinis Salacca clemensiana Salacca dolicholepis Salacca dransfieldiana Salacca flabellata Salacca glabrescens Salacca graciliflora Salacca lophospatha Salacca magnifica Salacca minuta Salacca multiflora Salacca ramosiana Salacca rupicola Salacca sarawakensis Salacca secunda Salacca stolonifera Salacca sumatrana Salacca vermicularis Salacca wallichiana Salacca zalacca

Salacca is a genus of 20 species of palms native to tropical southeastern Asia. They are very short-stemmed palms, with leaves up to 6-8 m long. The leaves have a spiny petiole; in most species they are pinnate with numerous leaflets, but some species, notably S. magnifica, have undivided leaves.

The fruit grow in clusters at the base of the plants, and are edible in many species, with a reddish-brown scaly skin covering a white pulp and one to two large inedible seeds. The Salak (S. zalacca) is the species most widely grown for the fruit, which has a slight acidic taste.

The skin of the Salacca fruit has a unique texture not unlike that of a snake's skin, rough to the touch in one direction but smooth in the other.