ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Borassus Flabellifer (Arecaceae)- Palmyra Palm, Brab Tree, Woman's Coconut. Palmyra palm is grown for the juice or toddy, extracted from the inflorescence from which sugar or jaggery is made. Tender fruits resembling pieces of translucent ice are eaten during hot season. Seeds are eaten as well as fruits. Fleshy scales of young seedling shoots are eaten as a delicacy, especially in northern Sri Lanka, or dried to make a starchy powder. An emollient made from the root is said to be a folk remedy for indurations. Flower or root is a folk remedy for tumors of the uterus. Trees begin to flower when 12 to 15 years old, depending on the region, and continue to flower for about 50 years. Fresh sap, called "sweet toddy" or "nira", containing about 12% sucrose, is obtained by tapping the flower stalk.
