Borassus flabellifer

 
bor-RAS-us -- from the Greek borassos, referring to the date palm's flower spike  
fla-BEL-lif-er -- fan-bearing, referring to the leaf
 
commonly known as: African fan palm, borassus palm, doub palm, great fan palm, lontar palm, palmyra palm, ron palm, tala palm, tal-palm, toddy palm, wine palm • Bengali: তাল taala • Gujarati: તાડ taad • Hindi: ताड़ taada, ताल tala, त्रृणराज trinaraaj • Kannada: ಓಲೆಗರಿ olegari, ತಾಳೆಗರಿ taalegari, ತಾಟಿನಿಮ್ಗು taatinimgu • Konkani: इरोळ eroal • Malayalam: കരിമ്പന karimpana • Marathi: ताड taada • Sanskrit: महातः mahatah, तलः or तालः talah, तन्तुनिर्यासः tantuniyosah,तृणम्केतुः tranam-ketuh, तृणम्राजः tranam-raj, तृणम् इन्द्रःtrnam-indrah• Tamil: பனை panai • Telugu: తాటి చెట్టు tatichettu • Urdu: تاڙ taad ; 

Native to: tropical Asia

Edible use:
... peeled seedlings as FRUIT ... are eaten fresh
... young plants are cooked as a VEGETABLE or roasted and pounded to make meal
... When the crown of the tree is removed, the segment from which the leaves grow out is an edible cake.   
The toddy is made from this palm.  
The timber is used for rafters; leaf-base fibre is used as brushes, etc 1,20,000 litres of toddy is produced by a single tree in its lifetime; ripe fruits are eaten roasted. There are as many as 801 uses are recorded for this Palmyra palm in an old Tamil song, as quoted by D.J.Mabberley.
Like KHEJUR (date-palm) TAL also produces PATALI / GUR and we have TAL(TAAL)-PHULURI! Each part of this tree is used here in one way or the other. But without baya-weaver bird the story of TAAL is incomplete!  
 


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Arecaceae (palm family) » Borassus flabellifer
Synonym: Borassus flabelliformis
bor-RAS-us -- from the Greek borassos, referring to the date palm's flower spike  
fla-BEL-lif-er -- fan-bearing, referring to the leaf

Native to: tropical Asia
Edible use:
... peeled seedlings as FRUIT ... are eaten fresh
... young plants are cooked as a VEGETABLE or roasted and pounded to make meal
... When the crown of the tree is removed, the segment from which the leaves grow out is an edible cake.
some facts:
... can live 100 years or more (yet fruit) ... Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borassus_flabellifer>
Symbolic status:
State Tree of Tamil Nadu, India
The toddy is made from this palm.
- The timber is used for rafters; leaf-base fibre is used as brushes, etc 1,20,000 litres of toddy is produced by a single tree in its lifetime; ripe fruits are eaten roasted. There are as many as 801 uses are recorded for this Palmyra palm in an old Tamil song, as quoted by D.J.Mabberley. I would be happier if anyone of you here knew that Tamil literature.
-Now i got a hint about the literature/song while browsing the net thru a document which i have attached herewith. I am thankful to those who put lot of effort to get the answer, it was not that easy i understand. You may like to read this interesting article.
 
 
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Borassus flabellifer: Male flowers of Borassus flabellifer
Common names: Palm tree,Taad
At: Alibag, Maharashtra 
- I love the jaggery made from the taad sap.

 
 
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https://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix/attach/48c534e3a9af96dc/Taala%201.jpg?part=0.1&authuser=0&view=1
VALMIKI : OBSERVER OF NATURE:  Valmiki mentioned TAALA in his Ramayan. Commonly this plant is known as PALMYRA-PALM. Scientifically it is known as Borassus flabellifer. Valmiki has used the shape of the fruit of TAALA to compare with body part of woman.
According to Chakravarti S Venkatesh "The Palmyara has been described by Tamil poets as Kalpavriksh which truly it seems from the incredible number of uses it is put to whereever it occurs.The famous Tamil poem Tala Vilasam enumerates no fewer than 801 different purposes for which part of this palm are used."
Attaching two images of the plant. 

Wonderful. This is an indigenous tree, the state tree of Tamil Nadu and found extensively in the Southern East Coast. Found extensively in IIT Madras campus and Guindy National Park, Chennai. They are often the
victims of strangler figs (Ficus species) in east coast.
wonderful pic and writing, and idea...of reading a poem about TALA vriksha... did you get to read this poem... could you enumerate a few of the uses. common and uncommon uses, a few of each category.... Also, if english translation is available of this poem, will you give me the reference please, 
PADMA has been mentioned by Valmiki in his Ramayan. Indian Lotus is the common name of this plant. Scientifically it is known as Nelumbo nucifera. Attaching an image of this plant.   


 
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Fruits : Borassus flabellifer : Mumbai : AK: Found an earlier post 'Species ID - An unusual request'
Since I could not find a picture to go with this post, nor any other on our group, thought of posting one taken by me in the Mumbai market on the 3rd of April,11.

Species Id - An unusual request.:
No photograph. Just text. From an email sent by a friend -
"what can you tell me about this fruit (name included - `noong' came into my mind, but I could be horribly wrong) sold in South India, purple/dark blue skin, white flesh, very juicy, used to quench thirst - resembles mangosteen, probably a relative? Possibly related to lychees also? I remember one long family trip to the South, this endless bus ride, halt at Dindigul and these fruits being sold, my father repeatedly asking if I wanted to try some and my outright refusal because I had Gold Spot and Limca and Mangola and assorted Sharbats on my mind. Have looked up Wikipedia several times, but hard if you have no name for said item."
Am sure at least one of our members will get the name.
I think you are mentioning about Borassus flabellifer . If so, it is 'Nongu'.
May be ..., ... or ... can confirm it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borassus_flabellifer 
I think ... got it right! The description matches well with the fruit of Asian palmyra palm (Tamil name: Panai maram).
It is the 'state tree of Tamil Nadu' and every part of it is used, for various purposes. According to an ancient Tamil literature, the tree has 801 uses in all. Nongu or Nungu is the nutritious endosperm which is edible, cool and sweet, like that of coconut. It is usually available during peak summer.
Very interestingly I saw this on sale in one of the Super martkets yesterday. I was thinking, where I have seen it!!!! Because in my place when they eat it, its always green on the outer surface and its much bigger.
http://www.bijlmakers.com/crops/images/asian_palmyra_palm_1.jpg


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Palm Trees of Bangalore - RA - Borassus flabellifer - Palmyra Palm Tree:  Palmyra palm is a native of tropical Africa but cultivated and naturalized throughout India.
The palmyra palm is a large tree up to 30m high and the trunk may have a circumference of 1.7m at the base. 
There may be 25-40 fresh leaves. Leaves are leathery, gray green, fan-shaped, 1-3 m wide, folded along the midrib; are divided to the center into 60-80 linear- lanceolate, 0.6-1.2 m long, marginally spiny segments. Their strong, stalks, 1-1.2 m long, are edged with hard spines. 
In India, it is planted as a windbreak on the plains. It is also used as a natural shelter by birds, bats and wild animals.  
The flowers are produced in big clusters of long, white string-like inflorences.  
The coconut-like fruits are three-sided when young, becoming rounded or more or less oval, 12-15 cm wide, and capped at the base with overlapping sepals. When the fruit is very young, this kernel is hollow, soft as jelly, and translucent like ice, and is accompanied by a watery liquid, sweetish and potable.  
The chief product of the palmyra is the sweet sap (toddy) obtained by tapping the tip of the inflorescence, as is done with the other sugar palms and, to a lesser extent, with the coconut. The toddy ferments naturally within a few hours after sunrise and is locally popular as a beverage. Rubbing the inside of the toddy-collecting receptacle with lime paste prevents fermentation, and thereafter the sap is referred to as sweet toddy, which yields concentrated or crude sugar (gur in India; jaggery in Ceylon); molasses, palm candy, and vinegar. Palmyra palm jaggery (gur) is much more nutritious than crude cane sugar.  
Traditionally, the Indian 'Nadar' community are the people who make their living from this tree using its wood, fruits, sap, stems, petioles and leaves to process a variety of food products, beverages, furniture, building materials, and handicrafts.

Thanks for sharing ...
Tamil name: பனை 
State Tree of Tamilnadu
Thank you very much ... We call it তাল (TAAL) in Bengali. Attached here are more photographs, showing male and female individual. Attachments (6).
 
 
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Araceae, Arecaceae and Zingiberaceae Fortnight: SN Aug 12 : 3 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (2).
Borassus flabellifer, wild palm tree from Salem area of Tamilndu
Thanks ... perhaps this is a very common wild palm of central and eastern India...
 
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Like KHEJUR (date-palm) TAL also produces PATALI / GUR and we have TAL(TAAL)-PHULURI! Each part of this tree is used here in one way or the other. But without baya-weaver bird the story of TAAL is incomplete!
Beautiful documentation...thanks ...
It is Baya or Weaver Bird.
Yes Madam, BABUI in Bengali.
I have seen another weaver, Black-breasted weaver or Bengal weaver, but they build nests on reed-beds.
Only a few TAL-PHULURI was left for me!
Yap, Black breasted is very rare in BD. I have found one active nest inside the reeds during 2009
Thank you ..., me too only once ...... here is for you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS2ZO9KkxNM
Very nice posting of a combo. The tree is very common on east coast. It is the state tree of Tamil Nadu. Economically very useful plant. Panai maram in Tamil.
Thank you very much Sir.... wrote me about the famous Tamil poem TALA VILASAM enumerating 801 different purposes of this tree!
 
 
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Attached are pictures of Borassus flabellifer captured in Mumbai in February and September 2013.
 
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Attached are pictures of Borassus flabellifer captured at Mumbai in August 2014.
 
 
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From Jijamata Udyan Mumbai and fruits from the market.
 
 
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AAZ Fortnight :: Arecaceae :: SMP3 :  2 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (1).  
Palm for ID. Chennai IIT Campus​
I think Borassus flabellifer
Yes it has to be Borassus flabellifer
yes TAAL gaachh

It is my pleasure to share few images of  Borassus flabellifer (Arecaceae 

Habit: Palm 

Habitat: Waste lands 

Sighting: Kadur, Chikmagalur, Karnataka, about 800 msl 

Date: 15-12-2015 


 

 
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An old picture of mine. 
Palm tree seen at Jijamata Udyan, Mumbai in Nov, 2011.
Borassus flabellifer?   

Borassus flabellifer
ताडगोळा  

 
Source tree of neera drink : 6 posts by 3 authors.
Books say that Neera drink is made from following two trees. Is it true?
Caryota urens (भेरली माड़ ) and
Phoenix sylverstris (शिंदी)
Neera drink is available on roadsides is summer in maharashtra at least.
Is it alcoholic?
Post evening it (same drink) becomes alcoholic called as "Taadi", in the morning its sold as neera.
Here is a wiki reference.



References:
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