THE PALMYRAH TREE

 

THE PALMYRAH TREE



The Palmyrah is a treasure to Sri Lankans, and the rich cultivation spans Sri Lanka’s north and north-eastern and southern landscapes.

 

Palmyrah grows in arid soil and dry climates, and they a lifespan of around 120 years.  The trees bear fruits between February and May, and they appear purple-black in color with a shade of dark yellow and are round and coconut-shaped. The female Palmyrah plant produces about 6 to 12 bunches of fruits annually. 


PALMYRAH TREE FOODS 


 Even today, the art of penning in palm-leaf manuscript continues. Even the fibrous part of the fruit can be eaten when ripe, raw, boiled, or roasted. The pulp is exported to several countries. The ripened fruit is used to make sweets that are known as delicacies of Jaffna. The fruit pulp is extracted and used to prepare kavum, a type of fried cake, and thal pinatu, a candy made of sheets of dry pulp sweetened with treacle. This sweetener can be enjoyed with a variety of food combinations.

 

Another popular snack, kotta kilangu or odiyal (palm sprout), is nutritious. Palmyrah or odiyal flour is used in traditional Jaffna staples like Odiyal Kool, laddu, and Odiyal Pittu. It is also believed that the multi-purpose palmyrah has medicinal properties too. Various parts of the tree serve multiple ailments.

 



Dried leaves of the Palmyrah are used to manufacture handicrafts such as mats, baskets, containers, and decorative ware. In the villages, it is common to sight houses fencing with Palmyrah leaf. The Palmyrah fronds are left to dry and arranged in a neat pattern before being fenced.

The traditional art of Palmyrah weaving is definitely eye-catching, engaging to watch, as well as biodegradable, and the products are pretty popular among the tourist industry. The hardy fiber from the young Palmyrah is ideal for making utility items like rope, brushes, and brooms.

The stem, which yields a sturdier fiber, makes fine furniture like stands and cabinets. The fiber that connects the branches to the tree trunk, called matta, is known to be one of the strongest fibers in the world and is used as a substitute for steel wire mesh to line tires. The Palmyrah timber is heavy, hard, durable, and valued for construction.

Location: Jaffna, Sri Lanka

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