Real Fan Palm

Description

The palm tree epitomises the Okavango Delta. The mere mention of this tree conjures up the image of a magnificent sunset with palm trees in silhouette. Not only does it provide one of the most striking landscapes the Okavango has to offer, but it also plays an immensely important role in the sustenance of Delta inhabitants - both animals and humans. This majestic tree grows up to 20m high and has a bare stem which often shows a slight swelling in the middle of the trunk.

As the English name "Fan palm" suggests, the leaves are fan-shaped. This is the main distinguishing factor when compared with the only other palm species in the Delta, the Wild date palm (Phoenix reclinata), which has feather-shaped leaves. Short palm scrub often occurs in dense clumps underneath the tall specimens and is formed by the development of suckers, each of which produces several stems at the base of a parent stem. The tennis ball-sized fruits take two years to mature and up to two years to fall and therefore may be seen on the tree all year round.

Bark

The cylindrical grey-brown stem has distinctive rings, with scars where leaves had been attached previously.

Leaves

Large, up to 1,3m in diametre and fan-shaped. Green when young, yellow-brown when old.

Flowers

Sexes separate on different trees. The male flowers are short-lived and produced in short spikes. The female flowers are produced in large, branched sprays.

Fruit

Almost spherical. Shiny russet-brown with 5-6cm in diametre. A single seed is surrounded by a fibrous pulp.

Setswana name: Mokolwane Botanical name: Hyphaene petersiana Family: Palm Family (Arecaceae)

Flowering

September to October.

Fruiting

January to March

Distribution

This species is covering northern parts of Botswana. In the Okavango Delta the species is very common, often forming homogenous island communities which cover the entire island. These trees grow well in areas with a shallow, slightly saline water-table and are therefore prevalent around pans. For this reason they occur on the edges of sand islands.

Pale salt crystals are formed as the water evaporates and these are clearly visible as a white carpet on the surrounding grass-cover. A by-product of these salts, called "calate", is used by termites to build their mounds. They mix "calate" with their saliva and clay in order to fashion these unique structures.