African Fan Palm( Deleb Palm)

African Fan Palm (Deleb Palm)

Borassus aethiopum is found in Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Found across sub-Saharan Africa as far south as northern South Africa. Absent from parts of southwest and central Africa, and the Horn of Africa. Present on a number of offshore islands including São Tomé and Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, three of the Cape Verde Islands, and Pemba, Zanzibar and Mayotte in the Mozambique Channel. Present in the Sambirano region of northwest Madagascar, including the islands of Nosy Bé and Nosy Mitsiou, though it may be introduced there.

             Family: Arecaceae Vernacular/common names: African fan palm, ron palm, elephant palm, deleb palm, black rhun palm. Local names: sebe (Bambara) and koanga (Mooré, Burkina). Related species of interest :Borassus aethiopum, whose petioles are yellow and the fruits are yellow-or- ange when ripe.