Arecaceae
Livistona rotundifolia (Lamk) Martius
Common names: BRN: serdang; IDN: woka, serdang; MYS: serdang; MMR: taung-htan; PHL: anahaw; SGP: footstool palm; THA: pam chawa, pam tan, pam yawa (Bangkok); ENG: fan palm; footstool palm Description: This is a medium-sized solitary palm attaining 7m to 15 m tall with a slim trunk with a diameter of 20 cm, woody on the outside, more densely woody near the base and soft at the core. The bark smooth with distinct but slightly raised leaf scars. The leaves are fan-shaped, shiny when young with the leaflets folded and attached along the margins and parted at the top when old and long spiny at the margins of the stalks near the base. Mature leaves are deeply divided and drooping making the shape of the crown oblong or rounded. The leaf sheaths are quite shallow at the base clasping partly the stem with brownish over-crossing fibres. Flowers are small, alone or clustered with short tube and long-lobed petals. Fruits are small, up to 2 cm in diameter, rounded even when young, brightly coloured brick red when
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ASEAN’S 100 MOST PRECIOUS PLANTS
ripe, turning black when dry. Seed is hard and only 1 per fruit. Uses: Since its discovery, Southeast Asians have found a variety of uses of this palm. Its straight trunks are used as posts for temporary dwellings. These posts can last when erected on dry foundation by placing rocks beneath them. Trunks are also used as floorings by using their hard outer strips. Fan-shaped
leaves are used for thatching houses usually in the form of sewn shingles. Sewn leaves were also used as sails in earlier times. Presently, leaves are sewn to make raingear or a sun hat frame with a bamboo. Yet, one of its popular uses is as a light but durable leaf-woven fan. This fan comes about during dry season plied along the roads in the countryside or in novelty shops in the city. Immature leaves are pliable and ideally used as food wrappers. Its wood is also used as bows, spear shafts, and walking sticks or canes. Children and birds love eating the fruits which are brightly coloured. Its palm cabbage, chunky and quintessentially sweet is edible, usually eaten raw or cooked. Popularly, this palm cabbage is finely chopped and made into fresh or fried spring rolls which are prevalent in Asian cuisine. However, whenever the palm cabbage is harvested the plant eventually dies, making it even more a costly gourmet food.
Photos by M. David
W
e often see this palm as an ornamental in small pots and gardens with its noticeable spines at the margins of its petioles and fanshaped leaves when still young, and in maturity, these leaves serve as shades in big gardens.
Leaf (above); habit (opposite page); fan (inset)
Distribution and habitat: Native to Borneo, Philippines, Sulawesi, and the Moluccas. It is a widely cultivated palm, found abundantly in other Southeast Asian countries. It thrives well in lowland forests.