PALM TREE

Of the world’s 2,500-plus species of palm trees, the Palmyra palm is most important to man, next to the coconut palm, because it yields food and provides over one hundred different useful end-products. To obtain the majority of its benefits, the Palmyra needs to be climbed twice daily to extract the nutritious juice from its flower-bunches. It is this juice, converted by several different methods, that is the basis for a wide variety of other products. Collecting this juice, however, is arduous – and often dangerous – work, for the trees can top 30 metres in height.