Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Online edition Corypha utan Lam. Family: Arecaceae Lamarck, J.B.A.P.M.de (1786) Encyclopedie methodique ii: 131. Common name: Kennedy Palm; Gebang Palm Stem Single stem 12-20 m tall, 60-100 cm DBH; grey and covered in persistent leaf bases in the upper part in a typical spiral pattern. Leaves No crownshaft. Leaves palmate, pleated, 4-6 m long, lamina 2.36-3.0 m wide and divided into 80- 100 very deep segments, 160 x 8 cm, greyish green to blueish green tapering to a short, forked, pointed apex, each lobe with a single midrib; ligule 1.5-2 cm above apex of the petiole; petiole 2-4 m long, channelled above with black margins and armed for the entire length with 0.3-2 cm long straight, stout spines. Fallen flowers [not vouchered]. © Flowers J.L. Dowe Inflorescence a terminal panicle 2-5 m tall with up to 1 million yellowish to white bisexual flowers with an unpleasant odour. Flowers 3-8 mm diameter with 3 sepals and 3 petals in clusters of 5-10 in regular spirals along the 15-40 cm long branchlets of the inflorescence. Plants flower only after 30- 60 years and then die (monocarpic). Fruit Olive green to brownish, globu;lar, 15-30 mm diameter. Takes ca. 18 months to ripen. Seed spherical and 12-20 mm diameter. Seedlings Features not available. Mature fruit [not vouchered]. © Distribution and Ecology J.L. Dowe Occurs in the NT, CYP and NEQ as far south as Delta Downs. Altitudinal range from 15-90 m. Grows on the banks of rivers, along creeks and gulleys in Monsoon Forest, open Eucalypt forest, open woodland and in grass-covered floodplains. Also from India, Malesia, Melanesia and New Guinea. Natural History & Notes The sugary sap, obtained by tappings from the palm top and inflorescences, is made into wine, sugar, alcohol, or vinegar. The adult leaves are used for roof thatching, manufacturing of mats and Leaf. © CSIRO umbrellas, especially the midribs of the leaves for furniture making and constructions of interior house walls. The fibres or cutted strips, obtained from the young unfolded leaves are used in the manufacture of nets, bags, mats, sails, baskets, string, ropes, hats, cloth, and fancy articles. The terminal bud is eaten as a vegetable (palm cabbage). The young cooked fruits are consumed as sweetmeats. The hard seeds are made into rosaries, necklaces and buttons. In times of scarcity starch is extracted from the stem (Johnson et al. 1991). Synonyms Corypha elata Roxb., Flora Indica 2: 176(1832), Type: This stately palm is a native of Bengal, where it flowers in March & April. RFK Code Fruiting plant, cultivated, 7001 Centenary Lakes, Cairns [not vouchered]. © J.L. Dowe Copyright © CSIRO 2020, all rights reserved. Leaf bases with basal cleft [not vouchered]. © J.L. Dowe Spines on petiole margin [not vouchered]. © J.L. Dowe Leaf and inflorescence. © CSIRO Leaf base and petiole sections. © CSIRO Web edition hosted at https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest.