Corypha utan

Appearance

It grows up to 20 metres tall, and, on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, up to 1.5 meters thick and bears palmate fronds 4 to 6 m long. Like other palms of the genus ''Corypha'', this species flowers at the end of its lifetime , producing a massive inflorescence up to 5 m tall containing up to one million flowers.

Distribution

It is distributed from the Assam region of India through Indochina, Malaysia, and Indonesia to the Philippines and New Guinea, and south to Australia's Cape York Peninsula. Growing along watercourses, floodplains and grasslands, the Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia write about the ''Corypha utan'' palms occurring in Cape York:


Corypha utan .. is undoubtedly one of the most imposing species in the Australian palm flora (with its massive pachycaul trunks and hapaxanthic flowering and fruiting extravaganza.

Habitat

It is distributed from the Assam region of India through Indochina, Malaysia, and Indonesia to the Philippines and New Guinea, and south to Australia's Cape York Peninsula. Growing along watercourses, floodplains and grasslands, the Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia write about the ''Corypha utan'' palms occurring in Cape York:


Corypha utan .. is undoubtedly one of the most imposing species in the Australian palm flora (with its massive pachycaul trunks and hapaxanthic flowering and fruiting extravaganza.

Uses

The starch contained inside the trunk is edible raw or cooked, as is the tip-top. The flowering stalks can be beaten to produce liquid. The nut kernels are also edible.

In Lamakera, its leaves are made into fibres weaved with sea hibiscus bark to make rope for whaling harpoons.

Locally known as ''buri'' or ''buli'' in the Philippines, the leaves of ''Corypha utan'' are widely used in weaving fans, baskets, and mats. Additionally, in Isla Verde, Batangas where this palm tree grows abundantly, ''Corypha utan'' sap is extracted, cooked and made into the sweet delicacy called "''Pakaskas''".