African fan palm, Borassus palm, African Palmyra palm

Where does African fan palm grow?

Found in: Africa, Australia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Notes: There are 7-10 Borassus species. Chemical composition: Protein (crude) = 2.8% (dry). Fat = 0.5% (dry). Ash (insoluble) = 3.5% (dry). Fibre (crude) = 16.8% (dry). Amino acids (g [16g N]-1): Aspartic acid = 9.3g. Threonine = 3.6g. Serine = 3.9g. Glutamic acid = 8.9g. Proline = 5.0g. Glycine = 5.0g. Alanine = 5.0g. Valine = 5.0g. Cysteine = 0.1g. Methionine = 1.2g. Isoleucine = 3.6g. Leucine = 6.1g. Tyrosine = 2.8g. Phenylalanine = 3.6g. Lysine = 3.9g. Histidine = 2.1g. Arginine = 2.4g. Minerals: Sulphur = 0.04% (dry). Potassium = 0.09% (dry). Magnesium = 0.10% (dry). Calcium = 0.08% (dry). Na = 0.01% (dry). Zinc = 4 mg/kg (dry). Iron = 488 mg/kg (dry). Manganese = 8 mg/kg (dry). Copper = 2 mg/kg (dry).

Status: The fruit are popular. They are sold in local markets.

Growing African fan palm, Borassus palm, African Palmyra palm

Cultivation: Plants are grown from seed. Seeds germinate in about one month. Seeds can only be stored for a short time before they will not grow. Seed should be sown directly where the palm is to grow as the long taproot makes transplanting difficult. Trees need to be 5 m apart. Seeds germinate quickly if they are well soaked before planting.

Edible Uses: The sap from the fruit stalk makes a pleasant drink. The fruit are eaten either ripe or unripe. The juicy pulp of ripe fruit is added to porridge to improve flavour. The immature seed kernel is eaten. The seed sprouts are eaten cooked. The stems of young seedlings are eaten. The growing point or palm cabbage is edible. (This kills the palm!) The long fleshy "sinker" root from the seed is eaten as a vegetable.

Production: Plants take about 10 years to become fully established. Plants are mainly pollinated by insects. A female palm can produce 20-50 fruits per flower stalk. Fruit can weigh 1 kg each. Fruit take 12-13 months to reach maturity. The fruit are sprouted by covering them in a pit and are ready to eat in 2 weeks. For palm wine tapping the terminal bud is cut and the sap collected. The cut is renewed twice a day for 3 to 4 weeks until the palm is exhausted and dies. It can yield 200-250 litres of sap. Fruit are collected after they fall.

Nutrition Info

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