Borassus flabellifer

Palmyra palm, African fan palm

Tall erect palm with fan-shaped leaves and a black stem, usually 15-20 m but sometimes 30 m tall. Cultivated for its edible fruits and for its sap, which can be fermented into palm wine (toddy). The sap, which has a sugar content of about 14%, is also collected and converted into syrup by boiling. After cooling, the syrup hardens into lumps of sugar.