Caryota urens, the fishtail or toddy palm, is a tall palm with leaflets shaped like fishtails and huge hanging flower clusters. Its sap is tapped for toddy and boiled down to jaggery and treacle, its trunk yields a sago-like starch, and its fibre makes brushes. Sri Lanka knows it as kithul. Its fruit pulp contains needle-like crystals that burn the skin, so handle it with care.
- Botanical name
- Caryota urens L.
- Family
- Arecaceae
- Tamil
- Konda panai
- Hindi
- Mari
- Parts used
- Sap (after a boil, as jaggery), Pith (after a cook)
- Habit
- Once-flowering fishtail; palmyra is Borassus
- Last updated
- 2026-10-25
How to recognise Fishtail palm
The leaves are twice-divided, unusual among palms. Each leaflet is triangular and jagged along the outer edge, like the tail of a fish.
It flowers only once. Starting at the top of the trunk and working downwards over several years, it produces enormous hanging tassels of flowers and fruit, then dies.
The fruit is round, red to black when ripe, about the size of a marble.
Palmyra, Borassus flabellifer, has stiff fan-shaped leaves. Coconut has feather-shaped leaves with simple, narrow leaflets.
Traditional use of Fishtail palm
Sap and jaggery
Tappers cut the flower stalks to collect the sweet sap, which ferments quickly into toddy or is boiled into jaggery and syrup. Kithul treacle is a well-known Sri Lankan sweetener.
South India and Sri Lanka palm tapping
Starch and fibre
The pith of felled trunks is processed into a sago-like starch, and the strong black leaf-base fibre, kittul fibre, is used for brushes, brooms and rope.
Kerala and Sri Lankan village practice
Modern notes on Fishtail palm
Food scientists have studied kithul treacle and jaggery as traditional sweeteners. They are still sugar, whatever the marketing says.
The irritant in the fruit is calcium oxalate in needle-shaped crystals, which cause intense burning and itching on contact.
Fishtail palm safety
Do not handle or eat the raw fruit. If the pulp touches skin, wash it off at once, and keep it away from eyes and mouth.
Fresh sap ferments within hours. Toddy is an alcoholic drink.
Ecology and sourcing
It grows wild in moist forests of the Western Ghats, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and it is planted in compounds and villages.
Fruit bats, civets and birds eat the fruit, apparently unharmed by the crystals, and spread the seeds.
Related plants
Also in Arecaceae
Questions about Fishtail palm
Is Fishtail palm palmyra?
No. Palmyra, Borassus flabellifer, has fan-shaped leaves.
Why does Fishtail palm die after flowering?
It is monocarpic: it puts all its stored energy into one long flowering and fruiting season.
Can you touch the fruit of Fishtail palm?
Avoid it. The pulp carries crystals that burn the skin.
Sources
- Caryota urens L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q766995 (Caryota urens)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.