This very common palm grows in swamps, where it forms impenetrable thickets often of large extent. It is readily distinguished by its very long erect leaves growing from ground level, there being no stem. It reaches a height of over 30 feet, the girth of the base being some 8 feet. The leaves spread out from a growing centre, visible as an erect shoot in the middle.
The Leaves are upwards of 30 feet in length with long leaflets whose edges and mid-rib at the back are armed with small sharp spines. The mid-rib is an orange colour, turning grey with age.
The Flowers are in a loose branched spadix up to 6 or 8 feet long, the male and female on the same palm and on the same spadix. The males on the lower part of the branches of the spadix have a tubular calyx, a corolla of 3 petals, long and narrow and a number of stamens, varying from 10-12 inside the base of the petals, attached to them. The female flowers, situated at the end of the branches of the spadix, are larger than the males, the calyx tubular, the corolla bell-shaped with 3 sharp lobes, the rudiments of the stamens forming a cup attached to the corolla and a 3-celled ovary.
The Fruits are like cones, some 3 inches long and 1½-2 inches broad, smooth and shiny, with a number of broad, pointed scales, varying in colour from chestnut to red-brown. They contain one kernel, loose in the shell.
Uses.—The leaflets are used for plaiting into mats, &c. The mid-rib is used for roofing material, beds, canoe poles, and split into lengths, the inner portion makes mats. The sap is used for wine. The inside of the fruit (outside the kernel) is eaten, expressed for oil, used as a medicine or for dressing the hair in various parts of Nigeria.
RHUS INSIGNIS Del.—Kasheshi. ANACARDIACEAE.
A small tree of the open Bush savannah, some 15-20 feet high. There is either a single stem or several. The crown is distinctive with its long, straight, slender branches and light appearance. It is very susceptible to fire and is frequently met with in coppice form owing to the destruction of the stems. The distinguishing features are the drooping leaves in threes and the small black, wrinkled fruits.
The Bark is grey or light brown, vertically, but not deeply, ridged.