| BRIEF DESCRIPTION A small creeping and tillering evergreen tree (palm) reaching up to 3-4 m in length, growing in clumps. The leaves are 3-7 m long, spiny and pinnate, and the fruit is a drupe, occuring in dense heads, obovoid, 2.5 cm long and orange-brown. USES The sarcotesta of the fruit is edible. It is consumed fresh when ripe, while sour unripe fruit is used as a substitute for lime in cooking. Wild forms can be grown as a fence and they are also a source of cork, thatch and construction material. GROWING PERIOD Perennial. COMMON NAMES Rakum palm, Sala, Kumbar, Salak kumbar, Salak rengam, Yengam, Rakum. FURTHER INF Scientific synonym: Zalacca rumphii. Rakum palm occurs in the hot tropical lowlands of Myanmar and Thailand, both wild and cultivated, within the latitudinal range 10-19°N. A dry season of 5-6 months is needed for good fruit set. It is quit drought resistant but to fruit during the dry season it require irrigation. The average annual fruit yield varies between 6-12 t/ha depending on the cultivars. (pH estimated by the compiler). |
