Caryota urens LC Taxonomic Authority:  Global Assessment  Regional Assessment Region: Global  Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names FISHTAIL PALM English PALM English TODDY PALM English WINE PALM English

Upper Level Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: LILIOPSIDA Order: Family: PALMAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name:  Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority:

General Information Distribution urens is thought to be native to and Sri Lanka and is naturalised from Nepal and southern to Malaya.

Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 2000  Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: Lower limit: 0  Antarctic Map Status: Depth  Australasian Upper limit:  Neotropical Lower limit:  Oceanian Depth Zones  Palearctic  Shallow photic  Bathyl  Hadal  Indomalayan  Photic  Abyssal  Nearctic Population The number of individuals is not known.

Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Unknown Maximum Population Size: Unknown Habitat and Ecology C. urens is found in the forest understory and in association with gaps and disturbance (Johnson 1996). The palm starts flowering after 8-10 years. After producing a series of 4-5 , the palm dies (Renuka 1999). The is dispersed by animals and is eaten intentionally (Zona & Henderson 1989).

System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative  Terrestrial  Freshwater  Nomadic  Congregatory/Dispersive  Is the a wild relative of a crop?  Marine  Migratory  Altitudinally migrant

Growth From Definition Tree - large Large tree, also termed a Phanerophyte (>1m)

Threats The major threat to this palm is major disturbance such as logging trails and forest clearance for shifting cultivation (Johnson 1996).

Past Present Future 1 Habitat Loss/Degradation (human induced)  1.1 Agriculture  1.1.1 Crops  1.1.1.1 Shifting Agriculture  1.1.2 Wood plantations  Conservation Measures C. urens is present in protected areas. In a previous conservation assessment C. urens was listed as not threatened in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India (Johnson 1996). This palm is cultivated in the national botanic garden, Lae, Foster Botanic Garden (Oaha Hawaii; Wahiawa Botanic Garden (Oah, Hawaii); Harold L. Lyon Arboretum (Oahu, Hawaii; Waimea Arboretum (Oahu, Hawaii); Don Carlsmith Collection at Onomea (Hawaii); Don Hodel Collection at Kealakekua (Hawaii), Botanic Gardens of Geneva and it is occasionally cultivated in Pakistan. This species is not listed on CITES and are not present in the Millennium Seed Bank, UK.

In Place Needed 3 Research actions  3.5 Threats  3.9 Trends/Monitoring  5 Species-based actions  5.7 Ex situ conservation actions  5.7.1 Captive breeding/Artificial propagation  5.7.2 Genome resource bank 

Countries of Occurrence

PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly ExtinctPresence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only India    Myanmar    Nepal    Sri Lanka   

General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 1 Forest 1UnsetSuitable 1.6 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland1Unset Suitable

Ecosystem Services  Insufficient Information available  Species provides no ecosystem services

Species Utilisation  Species is not utilised at all

Purpose / Type of Use Subsistence National International 1. Food - human  16. Other  3. Medicine - human and veterinary  8. Fibre  from this tree are popular among children and are chewn like the Areca nut. The trunk yields starch in times of famine, it is tapped for sugar or , the apex can be eaten and kittal fibre, obtained from the fibrous vascular bundles is exported from Sri Lanka. It is also used for potpourri and has been used for ornamental planting (CSIR 1950; Lalitkumar Rai 1994; Flach & Rumouas 1996).

Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: CITES status: Not listed

IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment:(using 2001 IUCN system) Least Concern (LC)

Red List Criteria: Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct?  Possibly Extinct Candidate?  Rationale for the Red List Assessment occurs across India to Peninsular from sea level to 2000m. It is widely cultivated and naturalised across this region, but is thought to be native to Sri Lanka and India. It occurs in protected areas and has previously been rated as not threatened. A rating of Least Concern is given here. Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment:  Genuine Change  Nongenuine Change  No Change  Genuine (recent)  New information  Taxonomy  Same category  Genuine (since first assessment)  Knowledge of Criteria  Criteria Revisio and criteria  Incorrect data used  Other  Same category but previously change in criteria Current Population Trend: Stable Date of Assessment: 05/06/2009 Name(s) of the Assessor(s): Loftus, C. Evaluator(s): Notes:

% population decline in the past: Time period over which the past decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): % population decline in the future: Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Number of Locations: Severely Fragmented: Number of Mature Individuals:

Bibliography Johnson, D.V., IUCN/SSC Palm Specialist Group, 1996, Palms, Their Conservation and Sustained Utilization, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Species Survival Commission, IUCN/SSC Palm Specialist Group, , , Lalitkumar Rai, 1994, Trees of the Sikkim Himalaya, 119, , Rawat, Dinesh, 2008, Palms for India: small-tips to achieve big results in growing palms, , West Bengal : Sahayog Hortica, 2008., Renuka, C, 1999, Palms of Kerala, 72, , Whitmore, T.C., 1998, Palms of Malaya, , White Lotus Co. Ltd., Zona, S. and Henderson, A., 1989, A review of animal-mediated seed dispersal of palms, Selbyana, 6-21, ,