Common Name:

General Information

Dypsis mananjarensis is a single-stemmed evergreen feather palm growing from 6 - 25 metres tall. The unbranched stem can be up to 30cm in diameter, topped by a crown of 6 - 10 leaves each up to 350cm long[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for its various uses, including as a food, medicine and source of wood and fibre. In a young stage the palm can be used as an ornamental for in-house decoration; older plants are attractive in gardens and parks[].
Threats to this species include habitat loss due to logging and clearance for agriculture; the increased frequency of fires; plus the exploitation of the species for its wood, edible apical bud and seeds. The plant is classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Africa - eastern Madagascar.

Habitat

Moist or dry forest, on slopes at elevations up to 200 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Near Threatened
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a position in full sun to light shade[]. Grows best in a well drained soil[].

Some Dypsis species apparently related to Dypsis mananjarensis have been reported as sources of palm heart: Dypsis prestoniana Beentje. They are all even more rare than Dypsis mananjarensis[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked[, ]. The apical bud, known as a 'palm heart' is eaten as a vegetable - it is of good quality, with a slightly bitter flavour[]. Eating this bud leads to the death of the tree because it is unable to make side-shoots[].

Medicinal

The plant (parts not specified but probably the bark and/or the fruits) is used in the treatment of headaches, jaundice and hepatitis; and also as an aid to lactation[].

Other Uses

The bark produces a fibre that was formerly much used by the local population[].

The wood is very hard and used for making planks for houses[].
Only the lower portion of mature trees are used for their timber, as the upper portions and the whole trunks of young plants are too soft to produce durable planks. This lower portion is cut in up to 3 sections, each 3 - 4 metres long. The sections are split in half, and the soft core is removed to produce 2 curved planks. The bark is scraped off, and the planks are tied together in bundles of 4 - 6[].

Propagation

Seed -

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