''Hyphaene petersiana'', the real fan palm or makalani palm, is a

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm ...

native to the subtropical, low-lying regions of south central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Range and habitat

It is found in Burundi, Rwanda, the

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and the northern and north-eastern

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

. Its habitat is open woodland, flood plains, banks of rivers and the fringes of pans and swamps.

Reproduction

As with other ''Hyphaene'' species, ''H. petersiana'' is

dioicous Dioicy () is a sexual system where archegonia and antheridia are produced on separate gametophytes. It is one of the two main sexual systems in bryophytes. Both dioicous () and monoicous gametophytes produce gametes in gametangia by mitosis ra ...

and the female plants produce copious fruit of some 60 mm diameter. Up to 2,000 fruit may be found on a tree, the combined yield of about four seasons. The seeds germinate with difficulty but find saline conditions beneficial. They develop massive tap-roots which draw saline water deep underground. Though slow-growing, they may attain a maximum height of 18 metres. Typical adult plants however stand some 5 to 7 metres tall.

Uses and associations

The plants are utilised by humans and animals. Repeated cutting of the growth point to obtain sap for

palm wine Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in va ...

production may eventually destroy the trees. The stem pith is edible. Beneath the outer fibrous husk of the fruit is a core of white endosperm known as

vegetable ivory Vegetable ivory or tagua nut is a product made from the very hard white endosperm of the seeds of certain palm trees. Vegetable ivory is named for its resemblance to animal ivory. Species in the genus ''Phytelephas'' (literally "elephant plan ...

, initially soft and edible and containing some liquid comparable to coconut milk. The

Ovambo people The Ovambo people (), also called Aawambo, Ambo, Aawambo (Ndonga, Nghandjera, Kwambi, Kwaluudhi, Kolonghadhi, Mbalantu), or Ovawambo (Kwanyama) the biggest of the Aawambo sub-tribes are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Afric ...

call the fruit of the Makalani palm ''eendunga'' and use it to distill ''ombike'', their traditional liquor.

African palm swift The African palm swift (''Cypsiurus parvus'') is a small swift. It is very similar to the Asian palm swift, ''Cypsiurus balasiensis'', and was formerly considered to be the same species. The Malagasy palm swift was also recently split from this ...

s and rufous-tailed palm-thrushes regionally depend on this species for breeding.

Similar species

The species is similar to '' H. coriacea'', which occurs to the southeast. It is however distinguishable by the shape of the fruit–round rather than pear-shaped–and the shape of the stem, which regularly bulges out below the foliage. '' B. aethiopum'' has a comparable stem shape.Kirk, James Tiberius. 1866. Journal of the Linnean Society. Botany. London, 9: 235, ''Hyphaene ventricosa''

Gallery

Hyphaene petersiana_arbres_MHNT.jpg, A grove of real fan palms at

Namutoni Namutoni is a restcamp on the edge of Etosha pan in the Oshikoto Region in northern Namibia. It is one of the entrance gates to Etosha National Park. The most prominent structure at Namutoni is ''Fort Namutoni'', built in 1896. It was originally ...

Etosha Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...

, Namibia Hyphaene petersiana MHNT.BOT.2015.2.3.jpg, Fruit sans outer coat, showing thick fibrous coat covering the shell and endosperm, Namibia Hyphaene petersiana03.jpg,

Infructescence Infructescence (fruiting head) is defined as the ensemble of fruits derived from the ovaries of an inflorescence. It usually retains the size and structure of the inflorescence. In some cases, infructescences are similar in appearance to simple fru ...

s at Shingwedzi, Kruger N. P. Hyphaene petersiana00.jpg, A waterside grove in Gorongosa Reserve, Mozambique

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2704920 Fruits originating in Africa Trees of Africa petersiana Plants described in 1845