Salak palm
Family Palmae (or Arecaceae)
Salacca edulis (= Zalacca edulis), the salak palm (S. edulis 1), is an almost stemless, spiny dioecious palm, 1-5 m tall, with long pinnate leaves and axillary inflorescences, and fleshy, globular and brown fruits with overlapping scales (S. edulis 2).
Use
The fruit produces a whitish sour-sweet pulp (S. edulis 3) with the taste of apples, which is highly regarded in the East. Unripe fruits are used in pickles.
The salak palm grows wild in the Indo-Malaysian region, but is also widely cultivated, particularly on West Java.