A tall, evergreen palm tree, can eventually reach a height of 30 m. Leaves large, fan-shaped, rigid, greyish-green, plicate; petiole armed with hard, coarse, irregular spines along both edges. Inflorescences branched, interfoliar, cream coloured. Fruits broadly ovoid, up to 20 cm in diameter.
Cultivation: Fairly tolerant of drought and water logging. Does not transplant well; seeds are best sown directly in their permanent position.
Etymology: The genus name “Borassus” is derived from the Greek word borassos, meaning the membranous cover of a date palm fruit or the immature spadix of the date palm. The species epithet “flabellifer” comes from Latin, where flabellum means fan and fer means bearing, referring to the fan-shaped leaves of the palm.
