Phoenix pusilla

Phoenix pusilla (pusilla, Latin, tiny or weak) or Ceylon date palm is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), they are found in lowlands, ridges and hills. No taller than 5 m, this species is usually single-stemmed but clumps do occur naturally. At 25 cm in diameter, the trunks are covered with distinct leaf-base scars, forming a 'wicker' pattern. Their distinguishable trunks have made them popular in cultivation. They are drought tolerant and slow-growing.

Ceylon date palm
Phoenix pusilla from Guindy National Park, Chennai
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Phoenix
Species:
P. pusilla
Binomial name
Phoenix pusilla

In Sri Lanka, the plant is known as இசம (Icham) and Cittintu in Tamil, Eentha and Chitteenthal in Malayalam and Parusakah in Sanskrit.[1] In Sinhala, it is called Indi-gaha, (ඉංදි ගහ). The name is most likely derived from "indo", meaning "of Indian origin". Its Malayalam, Telegu and Tamil names however also contain an intu or ita ending. In Hindi it is known as Palavat, and in Malayalam as Chiteental.

Medicinal properties

Plant pacifies vitiated vata, pitta, burning sensation, fever, cardiac debility, peptic ulcer and general weakness.

gollark: You can quite easily (ab)use SQLite as a key value database though.
gollark: LevelDB or RocksDB have less.
gollark: It is very fast but has quirkiness.
gollark: <@336962240848855040> LMDB?
gollark: Just buy basically any recent Intel/AMD CPU?

References
  1. "Ceylon Date Palm". Retrieved 7 June 2020.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.