BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA 
214 
BORASSUS PALMS 
these palms is the Raphia, a species as yet unnamed. The trunk or stem 
seldom reaches to. any great height above the ground ; it has enormously long 
fronds which rise into the air and give the idea of height. The foliage of these 
fronds is a glaucous green, but the midrib in the living frond is bright orange. 
The seeds are much like the cones of certain 
conifers. They are covered with gloss) 7 brown 
scales and are extremely hard, taking a whole 
year to germinate in the ground. This palm 
would no doubt produce a wine-like sap, as 
is the case with its near congener the Raphia 
vinifera; but I have not heard of the natives 
using it for this purpose in Central Africa. 
The midribs of its enormous fronds are of 
greatest service to man, being very light, 
easily straightened, somewhat uniform in 
girth and very strong. The Raphia midribs 
at once constitute a light and effective ladder 
20 feet long by small rungs being inserted 
in the holes made on the leaf-bearing surface of the midrib. This palm also 
in the same manner furnishes rafters for houses. The destruction of it at the 
hands of the natives has been somewhat wanton, and we have taken measures 
in the more settled districts to protect the Raphia, besides gathering the seeds 
and replanting them extensively. 
'I he Borassus flabellifer grows to a great height. Its fronds curl into 
a semicircle and make the 
familiar palm fan of the East. 
The fruit is large—as big as 
a child’s head—and the husk 
is a pale yellowish-green when 
ripe. I believe the kernel to 
be of little use The trunk of 
the palm is very good for 
certain purposes in building. 
The Central African Hy- 
phsene is so similar in appear¬ 
ance to the Borassus that the 
one is often mistaken for the 
other by the passing traveller. 
They are distinguished chiefly 
by the difference in their fruit. 
The fruit of the Borassus I 
have already described. That 
of the Hyphaene is much 
smaller — the size of a large 
egg-shaped Java orange. Its 
covering is a rich chestnut- 
brown and has a sweetish taste, like gingerbread. The kernel of the nut is white 
and extremely hard and can be used as a sort of vegetable ivory. Innumerable 
things are made of the tough and lissom fronds, and the trunk of this palm can 
be made very useful in building as it is easily split with wedges into board-like 
It takes a beautiful polish, having a very handsome grain. 
WILD DATE PALMS 
