Arenga wightii Griffith

Arenga wightii Griffith

Know our Plant

Systematic Classification:

Division	: Angiospermae
Class		: Dicotyledons
Family		: Arecaceae
Genus		: Arenga
Species  	: wightii

Common Name:

Njettipana, Kattuthengu

General Information:

Monoecious palm, trunk up to 6 m tall.Trunk grey, densely clothed with the black fibrous remains of the leaf sheaths.Leaves compound, pinnate, 3.5-8 m long; leaflets to 30-100 cm x 2-2.5 cm, linear ensiform, apical one often confluent and obconic, apex narrowed, sometimes shortly, unequally 2-lobed, base asymmetricaly auricled, dark green above, glaucous beneath, margin entire or toothed in the upper half.Male and female spadices separated, 1 m longBerry, hard, globose; 2-3 seed.

Economic Importance:

  • Leaves used for thatching by forest tribal communities. Toddy taped from inflorescence by tribal communities.
  • Leaves are also eaten when tender.