Corypha


Corypha is a genus of palms, native to India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea and northeastern Australia. They are fan palms, and the leaves have a long petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets.
All are large palms with leaves ranging from 2–5 metres in length. They reach heights of 20–40 m and with a trunk diameter of up to 1-2.5 m. All the species are monocarpic and die after flowering. The genus is relatively slow growing and can take many years to form a trunk.
Species include:
FlowerNameCommon nameDistribution
Corypha lecomtei Becc. ex LecomteThailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
Corypha microclada Becc.Philippines
Corypha taliera Roxb.India: West Bengal, Bangladesh, Myanmar
Corypha umbraculifera L.Talipot palmSri Lanka, southern India; naturalized in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Andaman Islands
Corypha utan Lam.Gebang palm, buri palm or cabbage palmIndia: Assam, Andaman Islands, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Australia: Queensland, Northern Territory

Gallery

Uses

In the Philippines, buri trees, like the sago palm, are used as sources of starch made into starch balls called landang. These are traditionally cooked into various desserts and dishes, most notably the binignit.
The leaves are often used for thatching or can be woven into baskets, etc. Three kinds of fibres, namely buri, raffia, and buntal, may be obtained from the plant. The midrib of the leaves are also used for weaving hats in the Philippines known as calasiao hats. The Buntal Hat Festival is celebrated in Baliuag, Bulacan yearly every May 6