As recorded for Salphi
Caryota urens
Salphi / Fish-Tail Palm सल्फी
Hindi name · See all regional names ↓
Also known as Solitary Toddy Palm, Indian Sago Palm, Jaggery Palm, Kittul
- Habit
- Palm (Columnar)
- Found in India
- Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- December-August
Salphi in regional languages
Find the name you know, then compare it with the botanical profile. Columns list recorded aliases; they are not paired translations. A Latin spelling appears only when it is present in the source record.
| Language | Regional script | Recorded Latin spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | सल्फी | Mari, salphi |
| Nepali | जगर | Jagar |
| Tamil | கொண்டல் பனை | Kontalpanai |
| Kannada | ಬಗನೆ · ಬಗನಿ · ಬೈನೆ | Bagane, Bagani, Baine |
| Malayalam | Not recorded | Anappana |
| Marathi | सुरमाड · भेरली माड | Surmad, Bherli Maad |
| Odia | ସଳପ | Not recorded |
| Assamese | চেৱা তামোল | Not recorded |
| Sinhala | කිතුල් | Kitul |
See the original recorded names
- Hindi
- Mari,सल्फी salphi
- Nepali
- जगर Jagar
- Tamil
- கொண்டல் பனை Kontalpanai
- Kannada
- ಬಗನೆ Bagane, ಬಗನಿ Bagani, ಬೈನೆ Baine
- Malayalam
- Anappana
- Marathi
- सुरमाड Surmad, भेरली माड Bherli Maad, भेरली माड
- Odia
- ସଳପ
- Assamese
- চেৱা তামোল
- Sinhala
- Kitul, කිතුල්
Ecology & growing context
- Native status · Kew WCVP
- WCVP native range includes India Kew dataset ↗︎
Kew WCVP dataset; accepted-name match. Dataset matching is separate from an individual regional review. Recorded worldwide native range: W. & S. India, Sri Lanka.
- Recorded habitat
- Shola forests
- Explore nearby plants
- Kerala →Maharashtra →Tamil Nadu →
Occurrence records show where a plant has been recorded; they do not establish that it is native there. Compare local habitat and growing conditions when choosing plants for a garden.
How to identify Salphi
Identify Salphi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a palm (columnar) habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Doubly-divided fishtail-shaped leaflets, sap tapped for jaggery.
- Confirm leaf type: Bipinnately compound.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- Confirm fruit type: Drupe.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: December-August.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Caryota urens
- Genus
- Caryota
- Family
- Arecaceae
- Habit
- Palm (Columnar)
- Habitat
- Shola forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaya Peninsula, Nepal
- Found in India
- Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Mizoram
- Flowering & fruiting
- December-August
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Bipinnately compoundrecordedThe leaf is divided twice — each 'leaflet' is itself a row of smaller leaflets, giving a fine, fern-like look.“The bipinnate leaves are triangular in shape, bright to deep green, 3.5 m (11 ft) long, and held on 60 cm (24 in) long petioles.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Salphi itself; the rest are typical of the Arecaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded“The 3 m (10 ft) long inflorescences emerge at each , from top to bottom, producing pendent clusters of white, unisexual flowers.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- DruperecordedA fleshy fruit with a single hard stone/pit enclosing the seed.“The fruit matures to a round, 1 cm (3⁄8 in) drupe, red in color with one seed.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
Characters marked “recorded” are for Salphi itself; the rest are typical of the Arecaceae family — flowering plants only.
Salphi in India
This distinctive palm, known as Mari (Hindi), கொண்டல் பனை Kontalpanai (Tamil), ಬಗನೆ Bagane (Kannada), Anappana (Malayalam), सुरमाड Surmad (Marathi), is valued for its sap. Caryota urens is found across Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, typically in moist forest and often tapped commercially.
Uses
Its sap is tapped and either fermented into toddy or boiled down into a dark, distinctive jaggery, and the starchy pith has been used as a sago-like starch source in some regions.
How to Identify Salphi
A solitary palm, unusual for having doubly compound (bipinnate) fronds rather than the simple fan or feather leaves of most palms, with ragged, triangular leaflets shaped like a fish's tail — the source of its common name. It flowers from the top of the crown downward and dies after its lowest flower cluster fruits.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Fish-Tail Palm called in different Indian languages?
- Mari (Hindi); கொண்டல் பனை Kontalpanai (Tamil); ಬಗನೆ Bagane (Kannada); Anappana (Malayalam); सुरमाड Surmad (Marathi); ସଳପ (Odia).
- Why is it called 'fishtail palm'?
- Its leaflets are ragged-edged and roughly triangular, resembling the tail fin of a fish — an unusual leaflet shape among palms, most of which have simple fan or feather-shaped leaves.
- What is toddy?
- A mildly alcoholic drink made by fermenting the sap tapped from palms like Caryota urens, traditionally collected fresh each morning.
Arecaceae
Palm family
Salphi belongs to the Arecaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guidesMore in Arecaceae
View all ArecaceaeSources: GBIF — Caryota urens (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Caryota urens (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)