Do Fishtail Palms Secrete Sap?

About Wine Palm

• Cultivated for ornamental beauty and byproducts, wine palm thrives in U.S Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 11. One of the hardiest of fishtails, mature wine palms often withstand USDA zone 9 temperatures. Native to southern Asia, wine palms grow 30 to 50 feet tall or taller and bear leaves up to 11 feet in length. Trees reach reproductive age between 15 to 20 years, and then stop growing leaves. Multiple flower clusters form, beginning at a tree's crown. Each sap-producing inflorescence can measure nearly 10 feet in length.

Wine Palm Flowers

• Beginning with the uppermost inflorescence and working down, wine palms bloom over many years. The sap comes strictly from these flowering clusters. Harvesters bind a tree's long inflorescences together like a massive candle. Sap collects in a wide-mouthed receptacle placed on the end. To keep sap flowing, tappers periodically cut off the end of the bound flowers. Wine palms produce 5 to 7 gallons of sap per day, and tapping continues 10 to 15 years. For all fishtail palms, stems bloom once a lifetime, and then die. For the solitary-stemmed wine palm, the end of blooming signals the end of life.

Sap and Other Products

• Once collected, wine palm sap yields several products. Some harvesters ferment sap into an alcoholic drink called palm wine or palm toddy. Others boil sap down to a thick, golden syrup known as kitul honey. Processed further, sap concentrate forms a sugar substitute and candy known as jaggery. Many other parts of wine palm go to profitable use as well. The trunk supplies a food starch, and leaf fibers produce ropes and baskets. The dead tree's wood is valued for strength and beauty. Take caution around wine palm's fleshy fruits; they contain oxalic acid which may sting and burn your skin.

Growing Wine Palm

• Outside the tree's native regions, wine palms are rarely grown for anything other than ornamental beauty. True to their origins, they prefer moist, cool, well-drained soil. Wine palms adapt well to both acid and alkaline soils, and to all soil types from sand to clay, but have low salt tolerance. They prefer partial to full shade rather than full, direct sun. In the hottest climates, protect wine palm from the sun's intense, early afternoon rays. A sheltered planting spot in a warm, garden microclimate helps wine palm withstand winter cold. Indoors, slow-growing wine palm thrives in moist, well-drained soil and indirect light.