Hyphaene compressa

Hyphaene compressa

The East African doum palm (Hyphaene compressa H.Wendl. 1878) is an arboreal species belonging to the Arecaceae family.

Systematic –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Division Magnoliophyta,
Class Liliopsida,
Subclass Arecidae,
Order Arecales,
Arecaceae family,
Subfamily Coryphoideae,
Tribe Borasseae,
Subtribe Hyphaeninae,
Genus Hyphaene,
Species H. compressa.
The terms are synonymous:
– Chamaeriphes compressa (H.Wendl.) Kuntze (1891);
– Hyphaene benadirensis Becc. (1908);
– Hyphaene mangoides Becc. (1908);
– Hyphaene multiformis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. ambigua Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. compressa (H.Wendl.) Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. deformis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. diminuta Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. gibbosa Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. intermedia Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. kilvaensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subvar. lindiensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. macrocarpa Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. mahengensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. manca Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. morogorensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. moshiensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. nasuta Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. obconica Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. obesa Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. odorata Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. panganensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. plagiosperma Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. rovumensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. semiplaena Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. stenosperma Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. subglobosa Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. tangatensis Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene multiformis subsp. trigibba Becc. (1924);
– Hyphaene incoje Furtado (1967);
– Hyphaene kilvaensis (Becc.) Furtado (1967);
– Hyphaene megacarpa Furtado (1967);
– Hyphaene semiplaena (Becc.) Furtado (1967).

Etymology –
The term Hyphaene comes from the Greek “ὑφαίνω” (hyphaino), that is, to weave, to intertwine, with the probable reference to the intertwining of fibers in the pulp of the fruit.
The specific epithet compressa comes from the Latin “compressus, a, um”, i.e. compressed, in reference to the fruits which are rather flattened laterally.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Hyphaene compressa is a palm native to tropical East Africa, with an area that includes: southern Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia and Tanzania.
This palm is very abundant in East Africa and is a vital socioeconomic resource for pastoralists and rural agro-pastoralists in that area. There is a high concentration of Hyphaene compressa along the coasts of northeast Africa, particularly Kenya and Tanzania. Other countries with high distribution of Hyphaene compressa include Somalia, Madagascar and Ethiopia. The palm is also present to a lesser extent in the Arabian Peninsula and India.
Furthermore, this plant has been popularized in the United States due to its horticultural interest.
Its habitat of greatest concentration is around the lake and river ecosystems of the Turkana Valley and surrounding national parks in Kenya. It grows in open areas, both semi-arid and seasonally flooded, along the coasts, the banks of rivers and lakes, on the edges of marshy areas or wherever there is water available underground which it can draw on with its deep root system, from ground level sea up to approximately 1400 m above sea level, on calcareous soils.

Description –
Hyphaene compressa is a dioecious palm, characterized by its unique branching, unlike most palms which are not branched.
This palm looks like a sturdy tree that stands erect and grows to about 10–20 meters in height.
Individuals of this species are dichotomously branched, and the stems can branch approximately five times at full maturity.
The leaves are medium to large in size, palmate or fan-shaped, and emerge at the top of the tree in small crowns.
The leaves are costapalmate, divided into 35-40 linear-lanceolate segments with sharp apex, 0.8-1 m long in the centre, united at the base for less than half their length, of an intense green to bluish green colour. The petiole, 0.7-1.2 m long and about 3 cm wide, is provided at the edges with robust blackish brown thorns curved upwards, about 1 cm long; the leaf bases remain on the plant for a long time.
The male and female inflorescences are similar and present on different individuals, between the leaves (interfoliar), 1-1.5 m long, with second order ramifications, the male ones with 1-6 rachillae at the apex of the primary ramifications, the female ones , generally more robust, with 1, less frequently 2-3 rachillae.
The male flowers are arranged sunken on the rachillae in groups of 3, which open in succession, with 6 stamens, solitary female flowers, on a short hairy pedicel, with a tricarpellate gynoecium.
The fruits, which usually develop from a single carpel, are drupes of very variable shape even in the same infructescence, from almost oblong to pyriform, 7-12 cm long and 5-8 cm wide, dark orange in colour. light brown.
Inside these there is an ovoid seed 3.5 cm long and 3 cm in diameter.

Cultivation –
Hyphaene compressa is a palm found in hot, dry climates.
The plant is harvested in the wild as a local source of material for hedging, weaving, etc. It also has minor medicinal uses and various edible uses.
Branched adult specimens that stand isolated in the savannahs are true monuments of nature, its ideal location, as an ornamental plant, is therefore in large gardens, away from other tall vegetation, so as to be fully appreciated, the only drawback is the slow growth, starting to branch after several years.
Trees obtain water by having a high water table that they can access with their tap roots.
This plant thrives in direct light in open prairies and along the edges of lakes, swamps, rivers and oceans. The soils where it grows are generally of poor quality.
It is a typical plant of the arid and dry tropics, where it is found at altitudes of up to 1,400 meters. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are between 20 and 30°C, but can tolerate 15-35°C.
It prefers an average annual rainfall of between 300 and 800 mm, but tolerates 200 – 900 mm.
The plants grow well in full sun, even if small, and are found naturally on poorly drained, light, dry and low-fertility soils.
From a pedological point of view, it prefers a pH between 6 and 7, tolerating 5.5 – 7.5 but can grow, as mentioned, in salty, calcareous and alkaline soils, with even higher pHs.
Established plants are drought tolerant.
It is necessary to grow dioecious forms, both male and female, if fruits and seeds are needed.
It is a slow-growing and long-lived palm. Some trees can reach 100 years, but due to high human interference this number is reduced to around 30 years.
It is also a plant that is quite resistant to fire and drought.
The fruits of H. compressa are produced after 30 years of maturation and can be harvested regularly every 6 months when the tree is between 40 and 50 years old.
The fruit grows almost all year round, taking three to ten months to germinate.
It generally reproduces by seed, which does not have a long duration of germination, usually placed directly planted or in containers at least 50 cm deep, given that the hypocotyl that develops from the seed, and at the end of which there is the embryo from which the plant will originate, it goes up to this depth or slightly beyond. The substrate must preferably be sandy and must be kept humid at a temperature of 28-30 °C. The germination percentage is generally low and the times rather long, from several months to over a year, unless the seeds are pre-treated, cleaned of the pulp, kept in water, renewed daily for about ten days, or subjected to an appropriate treatment chemical, reserved for specialized personnel, to attack the hard integument; the pre-treated seeds germinate, in the best cultivation conditions, starting from 4 months.

Customs and Traditions –
Hyphaene compressa is a palm known by various common names; among these we report: East African doum palm (English); el dom (Arabic); marara (bajuni); medium (good); koone, meeti, qoone (borana); mkoma (chonyi); lume, mkoma (digo); lume, mkoma (digo); meetti (gabra); mkoma (giriama); lparrua (ilchamus); mkoma (kambe); mokoma (malakote); irara (mbeere); kone (footprint); takayua, takuyua (pokot); baar, gey-i-khooona (rendille); lparwai, nkujit-ae-nkeok (samburu); auwaki (sanya); baar (Somali); mkoma, mlala (Swahili); mkoma, mkoche, mlala, muaa, irara (taveta); muruguyu (tharaka), eeng’ol (turkana).
Almost the entire palm tree can be used, the most used part of the tree is its leaves. It has a variety of different uses and is a vital economic resource in rural African communities.
As for the leaves, the age at which palm leaves are harvested determines what goods are produced. The stems of immature palm leaves are divided into long strips to make a variety of products such as baskets, mats, chairs, brooms and hats. The leaves can also be beaten and separated into fibers to make hammocks. The ripe green leaves are dried and used to cover the roofs of huts, light fires and also to create handicrafts. The use of these leaves as shelter has expanded to include tourist sites and refugee camps and also with the increase in permanent settlements in African communities.
Fruits also play an important role. The populations of East Africa depend on the fruit of this palm.
It is popular as a food source, especially during times of food scarcity, and are commonly bought and sold in local markets. The mesocarp or pulp of the young fruit can be made into a non-alcoholic juice that children enjoy. The seed coat inside the mesocarp is difficult to break, but the nut inside can be eaten or ground into a powder to flavor other foods.
Furthermore, by cutting into the trunks of older trees, its sap can be transformed into an alcoholic wine of around 3.6% by volume. This practice is often done incorrectly by cutting the trunk too deeply, killing the tree. However, if the sap is extracted correctly, the tree is viable for another two to three years. The wine’s 24-hour shelf life and lack of investment in storage have prevented it from losing its economic importance. Logs before first branching can be made into very sturdy, termite-proof building material including posts, fences and latrines.
The presence of Hyphaene compressa has increased the standard of living in rural communities where the fruits, leaves and stems have a monetary value. The woven products are sold and traded in local and international markets where the extreme specificity of skill and craftsmanship can be seen. Subsequently, the marketing and distribution of thatched products creates a niche that requires local retailers, wholesalers and of course manufacturers who understand the changes in the local market. For example, in Turkana, a women’s cooperative society has emerged to manage the sale of handicraft products. Although this palm has created a source of income for local populations, it is important to note that its economy is not stable or uniform across the region. The availability of H. compressa, the ability to effectively use its product, and the skills of the regional population are all limiting factors.
Unfortunately, due to the high importance of Hyphaene compressa, poaching of its leaves in protected national forests has become a problem. Evidence of overexploitation of tree resources has emerged since the 1990s. Improper sap harvesting practices are killing palm trees, and the lack of knowledge on how to do the extraction is limiting the longevity of palm trees. Hyphaene compressa is being domesticated in some regions of Africa. Conservation laws have also been established locally to protect the tree from overexploitation, to ensure the palm’s long-lasting abundance.
From an ecological point of view, in fact, the fruits of Hyphaene compressa are eaten by elephants, baboons and monkeys (endangered in the Tane River Crested Manbey). Elephants prefer to eat the fruit of the Doum palm and have become the main mechanism for seed dispersal in Hyphaene compressa. The fruits are edible by humans and are rich in energy. When ripe, the fruit appears orange-brown and has a sweet flavor. The doum palm can produce up to thousands of fruits per tree.

Preparation Method –
The pulp of the fruits of the Hyphaene compressa is edible, energetic and of a pleasant flavour, even if very fibrous, consumed raw, while from that of the immature fruits a pleasant drink is obtained, the immature endosperm is also edible, while the ripe one is too hard and is sometimes used to make small craft and artistic objects such as vegetable ivory.
The leaves, both fresh and dried, are used as fodder, particularly in periods of drought. From the stems, by incision, the sap is extracted from which an alcoholic drink is obtained, a practice which very often leads to the death of the plant or stem in bushy ones. The fruits are also an important food resource for fauna, in particular baboons and elephants, which contribute to the dispersal of seeds, which germinate easily, if soil conditions are favourable, after passing through their digestive system.
When used in food, remember that the fruits are eaten raw and the pulp has a sweet flavor but is very fibrous, it is a poor food but, being sweet and with a pleasant smell, children like it.
The juice of young, immature fruits is drunk like coconut milk.
A sap obtained by tapping the crown of the plant is fermented into a poor-quality alcoholic drink.
A good palm wine is produced from the sap obtained by tapping the tip of the main stem.
In the medicinal field, the pulp of the fruit is consumed as a remedy against intestinal worms.
Among other uses, it should be remembered that the leaves are used for straw covering or for weaving baskets, mats, hats, fans, etc.
The seed is used as a source of plant ivory.
The wood is used to build poles and as fuel.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora d’Italia, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/image-display.php?species_id=181370&image_id=2
– https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/image-display.php?species_id=181370&image_id=4

Attention: Pharmaceutical applications and food uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; we therefore decline any responsibility for their use for healing, aesthetic or food purposes.