Borassus akeassii
Borassus akeassii | ||||||||||||
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Two ripe fruits of Borassus akeassii |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Borassus akeassii | ||||||||||||
Bayton , Ouédr. & Guinko |
Borassus akeassii is a species of the genus Borassus that has been known for several decades, but was only described in 2006. The specific epithet refers to the Ivorian botanist Laurent Aké Assi .
description
It is a dioecious, up to 15 m high palm with an unbranched gray trunk, on which the leaf scars are clearly visible. The palmate leaves are 1.5–3 m long and blue-green in color. The male inflorescences are up to 80 cm long, the female reach 110 cm. B. akeassii differs from B. aethiopum , the other West African species of the genus, among other things by its dark green fruits.
distribution
Borassus akeassii occurs in Benin , Burkina Faso , Ivory Coast , Mali , Niger , Nigeria , Senegal , Tanzania and in the Central African Republic .
use
The use includes the production of palm wine, the consumption of seedlings as vegetables and the use of the leaves for mats, fans, hats and other wickerwork.
literature
- Ross P. Bayton, Amadé Ouédraogo, Sita Guinko: "The genus Borassus (Arecaceae) in West Africa, with a description of a new species from Burkina Faso." in Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , Vol. 150, No. 4, April 2006, pp. 419-427 (9), 2006. (abstract)
- Exact description of the species at kew.org (PDF file; 255 kB)