Caryota Mitis
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''Caryota mitis'', known as the clustering fishtail palm or fishtail palm, is a species of palm native to
Tropical Asia Tropical Asia refers to the entirety of the areas in Asia with a tropical climate. These areas are of geographic and economic importance due to their natural resources and biodiversity, which include many species of agricultural value. There are ...
from
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
to southern
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, now sparingly naturalized in southern
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and in parts of Africa and Latin America. The species was originally described from
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
in 1790. In Florida, it grows in
hummocks In geology, a hummock is a small knoll or mound above ground.Bates, Robert L. and Julia A. Jackson, ed. (1984). “hummock.” Dictionary of Geological Terms, 3rd Ed. New York: Anchor Books. p. 241. They are typically less than in height and ...
and in disturbed wooded areas. ''Caryota mitis'' has clustered stems up to 10 m (33 feet) tall and 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter. Leaves can be up to 3 m (10 feet) long. Flowers are purple, and the fruits—harmful to humans—are dark purple or red.Loureiro, João de. Flora Cochinchinensis 2: 569–570. 1790.


Uses

Cultivated mainly as an ornament plant in
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, where it is named ''tunsaé töch'', traditional healers burn the heaps of felted hairs from the leaves' axils to treat ill limbs of patients.


Toxicity

The fruit of ''C. mitis'' is saturated with
raphides Raphides (pronounced /ˈræfɪˌdiz/, singular raphide /ˈreɪfʌɪd/ or raphis) are needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate monohydrate (prismatic monoclinic crystals) or calcium carbonate as aragonite ( dipyramidal orthorhombic crystals), fo ...
, sharp, needle-shaped crystals of
calcium oxalate Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate ...
. The raphides are strong irritants that cause damage and subsequent itching upon contact with skin, and if ingested, the mouth. This is a result of the physical structure of the raphides, and not any chemical reaction.


Gallery

File: 短穗魚尾葵 20190607180236.jpg , Plant File:叢立孔雀椰子 20190606204454 01.jpg , Characteristic of the grouping of trunks File:叢立孔雀椰子 20190606204454 02.jpg , Phyllotaxis File:叢立孔雀椰子 20190606204454 03.jpg , Phyllotaxis File:叢立孔雀椰子 20190606204454 04.jpg , Fruits File:叢立孔雀椰子 20190606204454 05.jpg , Fruits File:叢立孔雀椰子 20190606204454 06.jpg , Fruits


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q221543 mitis Flora of China Trees of Indo-China Trees of Malesia Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees