Corypha

Corypha
Corypha umbraculifera painting (1913)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Subfamily:	Coryphoideae
Tribe:	Corypheae
Genus:	Corypha L.
Synonyms
Bessia Raf. Codda-Pana Adans. nom. illeg. Dendrema Raf. Gembanga Blume Taliera Mart.

Corypha utan

Corypha (Gebang Palm, Buri Palm and Talipot Palm) is a genus of palms (family Arecaceae), native to India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, northeastern Australia (Cape York Peninsula, Queensland). They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a long petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets.

They are all large palms, with large fan-shaped leaves with stout petioles 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:

1. Corypha lecomtei Becc. ex Lecomte - Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
2. Corypha microclada Becc. - Philippines
3. Corypha taliera Roxb. - West Bengal, Bangladesh, Myanmar
4. Corypha umbraculifera L. - Talipot Palm - Sri Lanka, southern India; naturalized in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Andaman Islands
5. Corypha utan Lam. (syn. C. elata, C. gebang) - Gebang Palm or Buri Palm or Cabbage Palm - Assam, Andaman Islands, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Queensland, Northern Territory of Australia

Uses

Giant "Buntal" (2 meters, buri palm) hat, SM City Baliuag, Philippines.

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 Buntal (buri palm leaves) Hat Festival is celebrated in Baliuag, Bulacan yearly every May 6

References

• PACSOA: Corypha index
• PACSOA: Corypha utan in Australia
• Kunth, Karl Sigismund Corypha miraguama, Nov. Gen., 1816, 1, p. 298. Accessed 2012-8-4.
• The Old Market Gardens and Nurseries of London — No. 10, (52 MB file from archive.org) Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardner v. 57, 29 March 1877, p. 238. Accessed 2012-7-31. The Journal records John Fraser as bringing Corypha miraguama back from Cuba in 1807. See also Kunth, 1816, same location.