Raphia sp.

Raffia palms

Family Palmae (or Arecaceae)

Raphia sp., raffia palms (Raph. sp 1), are a group of palms from the swamps in West Africa and South America. Raffia palms have the largest leaves in the plant kingdom, reaching a length of 15 m. The inflorescence is usually terminal with a branched pendulous spadix, bearing female flowers towards the base and male flowers at the end. Fruits with hard shining overlapping scales (Raph. sp 2).

Use
Raffia palms have many uses. The petiole and leaf axis are used in house building, leaflets are used for thatching and for making mats, baskets etc. Raffia fibre is stripped from the surface of young leaflets and is used for making mats, hammocks, bags and cloth. Much of the raffia imported into Europe is used as a tying material in horticulture. Most of it is imported from Madagascar.