As recorded for Khajur
Phoenix sylvestris
Khajur / Wild Date Palm खजूर
Hindi name · See all regional names ↓
Also known as Thoddy Palm, Date Sugar Palm, Indian Date Palm
- Habit
- Palm (Columnar)
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- January-October
Khajur 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 | खजूर · सेंधी | khajur, sendhi |
| Nepali | ताडी · खजुर | Kandela, Taadii, Khajur |
| Bengali | খর্জূর · খেজুর | kharjura, khejura |
| Tamil | ஈந்துபனை · காட்டீஞ்சு · இசம் | inthupaanai, kattinchu, Icham |
| Telugu | ఈత · ఈత చెట్టు | ita |
| Kannada | ಈಚಲು · ಖರ್ಜೂರ · ಫೀನಿಕ್ಸ್ ಸಿಲ್ವೆಸ್ಟ್ರಿಸ್ | ichalu, kharjura |
| Malayalam | കാടിനൊത്ത · കാട്ടീന്തല് · നീലന്തെണ്ട് | kaattiintha, kaattiinthal, Niilanthent |
| Marathi | खारीक · खर्जूर · खर्जूरी · शिंदी | kharik, kharjur, Kharjuri |
See the original recorded names
- Hindi
- खजूर khajur, सेंधी sendhi,खजूर khajur
- Nepali
- Kandela, ताडी Taadii, खजुर Khajur
- Bengali
- খর্জূর kharjura, খেজুর khejura
- Tamil
- ஈந்துபனை inthupaanai, காட்டீஞ்சு kattinchu, இசம் Icham
- Telugu
- ఈత ita, ఈత చెట్టు
- Kannada
- ಈಚಲು ichalu, ಖರ್ಜೂರ kharjura, ಫೀನಿಕ್ಸ್ ಸಿಲ್ವೆಸ್ಟ್ರಿಸ್
- Malayalam
- കാടിനൊത്ത kaattiintha, കാട്ടീന്തല് kaattiinthal, നീലന്തെണ്ട് Niilanthent
- Marathi
- खारीक kharik, खर्जूर kharjur, खर्जूरी Kharjuri, शिंदी
Toxicity & contact hazards
What the sources report, with their scope intact. A missing rating stays unknown; a non-toxic listing doesn’t rule out irritation, injury or other hazards.
Thorns & prickles
Leaves are armed with spines (modified leaflets).
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: SW. India, Sri Lanka.
- Explore nearby plants
- Rajasthan →Maharashtra →Karnataka →
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 Khajur
Identify Khajur 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: Sap tapped for date-palm jaggery.
- Confirm leaf type: Pinnately compound (feather-shaped fronds).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: January-October.
- In India, compare location records such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Arecaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Khajur.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Phoenix sylvestris
- Genus
- Phoenix
- Family
- Arecaceae
- Habit
- Palm (Columnar)
- Native to
- Indian subcontinent
- Distribution
- Introduced elsewhere
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Haryana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-October
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Pinnately compound (feather-shaped fronds)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Khajur itself; the rest are typical of the Arecaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded“The inflorescence grows to 1 metre with white, unisexual flowers forming to a large, pendent infructescence.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
Characters marked “recorded” are for Khajur itself; the rest are typical of the Arecaceae family — flowering plants only.
Khajur in India
This palm, known as खजूर khajur (Hindi), ஈந்துபனை inthupaanai (Tamil), ఈత ita (Telugu), ಈಚಲು ichalu (Kannada), കാടിനൊത്ത kaattiintha (Malayalam), खारीक kharik (Marathi), is a common and economically important tree across much of India. Phoenix sylvestris is found across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, both wild and cultivated for its sap.
Uses
Its sap is tapped and boiled down into date palm jaggery (khejur gur), a prized sweetener especially in Bengal, or fermented into toddy; the leaves are woven into mats and baskets.
How to Identify Khajur
A tall palm with a solitary trunk covered in old, persistent leaf-base stumps. Leaves are feather-like (pinnate) and greyish-green, with the lower leaflets often modified into spines. Small fruit ripens in dense clusters from green to orange-red.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Wild Date Palm called in different Indian languages?
- खजूर khajur (Hindi); ஈந்துபனை inthupaanai (Tamil); ఈత ita (Telugu); ಈಚಲು ichalu (Kannada); കാടിനൊത്ത kaattiintha (Malayalam); खारीक kharik (Marathi); খর্জূর kharjura (Bengali).
- Is this the same as the date palm that produces edible dates?
- It's a close wild relative — Phoenix sylvestris fruit is edible but small and less sweet than the commercially grown date (Phoenix dactylifera); this species is valued more for its sap than its fruit.
- What is khejur gur?
- A dark, richly flavoured jaggery made by boiling down the sap tapped from this palm, especially prized in Bengal during the winter tapping season.
Arecaceae
Palm family
Khajur belongs to the Arecaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Arecaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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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 — Phoenix sylvestris (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Phoenix sylvestris (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)