Dypsis tokoravina
Beentje
Arecaceae
Common Name:
Plant in natural habitat in Madagascar
Photograph by: John Dransfield
Image credit to Palmweb
Plant in natural habitat in Madagascar
Photograph by: John Dransfield
Image credit to Palmweb
Stem and leaf petioles
Photograph by: William J. Baker
Image credit to Palmweb
Crown of plant
Photograph by: Brian Rogers'
Image credit to Palmweb
General Information
Dypsis tokoravina is an evergreen palm.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.
A rare palm with less than 30 mature trees known in the wild. The current population trend is decreasing. Trees are felled in order for the seeds to be harvested for the international horticultural trade. The plant is classified as 'Critically Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
Africa - northeastern Madagascar.
Habitat
Occurs in lowland rainforest where this species occurs at the edge of swamps in valley bottoms and on ridge tops. Recorded from 10 up to 500 m[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].
Properties
| Conservation Status | Critically Endangered |
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Evergreen Tree |
| Height | 0.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
Leaves - cooked[
]. The apical bud, known as a 'palm heart' is eaten as a vegetable[
]. Eating this bud leads to the death of the stem because it is unable to make side-shoots[
K- Title
- Plants for a Future
- Author
- Ken Fern
- Description
- Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
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[
547- Title
- Assessing Ethnobotanical Knowledge and Resources, Lokaro Reserve, SE Madagascar
- Publication
-
- Author
- Lehman A.D.
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2009
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A thesis, in PDF format, by Ashley Davis Lehman of the University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
