Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata)

Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) is a plant species, the most important palm after coconut (Cocos nucifera) in Arecaceae which is a versatile plant, growing to 25 meters high and 65 cm in diameter, stems sturdy and at the top wrapped in by black fibers as leaf fronds that surround the stem.

A. pinnata has pinnate compound leaves, up to 5 m long with stems up to 1.5 m. Minor leaves such as corrugated ribbon, 7x145 cm, dark green on the top and whitish by a layer of wax on the bottom.





The male flowers separate from the female flowers in different cobs that appear in the armpit of the leaf and are up to 2.5 m long. Bullet-shaped fruit for a diameter of 4 cm, has three chambers and three seeds and arranged in chains.

Each bunch has 10 or more stalks and each stalk has approximately 50 rows of green or yellowish brown fruit. This fruit cannot be eaten directly because the sap causes severe itching.

Aren are easy to grow in tropical Asia, grow wild or planted on slopes or river cliffs at altitudes up to 1,400 m. The sap causes itching, but ripe fruit is preferred by many animals including weasels and wild boar which indirectly function as seed dispersers.

Palm sugar is obtained by tapping the male flower bunches that begin to bloom and scatter the yellow pollen. The bunches were first bruised by hitting them for several days until liquid came out from inside. The bunches were then cut and hung at the ends of bamboo tubs to catch any dripping liquid.

The sweet liquid is clear to slightly cloudy. This sap does not last long, so the filled casks must be taken immediately to be processed, usually taken twice a day in the morning and evening.

The liquid is immediately cooked until it thickens and becomes liquid sugar. This liquid sugar can be added to the jackfruit sap mixture so that the sugar hardens and is molded into chunks. Liquid sugar can also be added with a separating agent such as coconut oil, so that crystal sugar forms.

The liquid is also commonly fermented into alcoholic beverages. This drink is obtained by adding one or several types of bark or roots and letting it sit one to several nights. The resulting drink can taste sweet or sour or bitter. If the fermentation process is continued with the addition of other ingredients, it will produce vinegar.

The fruit has 2-3 white seed nuclei in a hard, thin shell. Young fruit has a core that is still soft and slightly translucent. Young fruit is burned or boiled to remove the core and then soaked in lime water for several days to remove the sap. Processed seed kernels will be traded in the market as fruit products for mixed drinks, sweets or cooked in various snacks.

The leaves are used as a roofing material for houses. The shoots of the leaves that are still buds are also used as cigarette leaves. The leaves are used to wrap palm sugar and durian fruit. These leaves are often spun into rope, while the sticks are used for woven items and brooms.

The fibers are spun into strong, durable and seawater-resistant ropes. Palm fiber can also be used as roofing material for houses, brushes and brooms. The fronds and petioles are processed into strong and durable fibers to be used as yarn, fishing line and guitar strings.

The inner stem is quite hard and is used as boards, rafters or made into sticks. The middle stem is very soft, usually pounded and processed to produce low quality sago. Stems that are split lengthwise and the center removed can be used as drains. The roots produce fiber for plaiting material, fishing lines and whips.

The sap causes itching, but the ripe fruit is liked by many animals, including civets and wild boars.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Caryoteae
Genus: Arenga Labill. ex DC. in Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 2: 162 (1800)
Species: Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. in Interpr. Herb. Amboin.: 119 (1917)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Gomutus rumphii Corrêa in Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 9: 288 (1807)
Saguerus pinnatus Wurmb in Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunsten 1: 351 (1779)
Saguerus rumphii (Corrêa) Roxb. ex Fleming in Asiat. Res. 11: 188 (1810)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Arenga gamuto Merr. in Philipp. J. Sci., C 9: 63 (1914)
Arenga griffithii Seem. ex H.Wendl. in O.C.E.de Kerchove de Denterghem, Palmiers: 232 (1878)
Arenga saccharifera Labill. ex DC. in Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 2: 162 (1800)
Borassus gomutus Lour. in Fl. Cochinch.: 618 (1790)
Caryota onusta Blanco in Fl. Filip.: 741 (1837)
Gomutus saccharifer (Labill. ex DC.) Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 2: 624 (1825)
Gomutus vulgaris Rumph. ex Reider in Geheimnisse: 415 (1830)
Saguerus gamuto Houtt. in Nat. Hist. 2(1): 410 (1773)
Saguerus saccharifer (Labill. ex DC.) Blume in Rumphia 2: 128 (1843)
Sagus gomutus (Lour.) Perr. in Mém. Soc. Linn. Paris 3: 142 (1824)

PUBLICATIONS

Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.

Baker, W.J., Barfod, A.S., Cámara-Leret, R., Dowe, J.L., Heatubun, C.D., Petoe, P., Turner, J.H., Zona, S. & Dransfield, J. (2024). Palms of New Guinea: 1-726. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond.

Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots'. Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.

Barfod, A.S. & Dransfield, J. (2013). Flora of Thailand 11(3): 323-498. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok.

Evenhuis, N.L. & Eldredge, L.G. (eds.) (2012). Records of the Hawaii biological survey for 2011. Part II: plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 113: 1-102.

Girmansyah, D. & al. (eds.) (2013). Flora of Bali an annotated checklist: 1-158. Herbarium Bogorensis, Indonesia.

Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 1-529. MIM, Deurne.

Henderson, A. (2009). Palms of Southern Asia: 1-197. Princeton university press, Princeton and Oxford.

Nurtjahya, E. & al. (2026). Flowering Plants of Bangka Island: Native and Introduced. Acta Botanica Hungarica 68: 127-156.

Pandey, R.P. & Dilwakar, P.G. (2008). An integrated check-list flora of Andaman and Nicobar islands, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 32: 403-500.

Pasha, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Powling, A. (2009). The palms of Buton, Indonesia, an island in Wallacea. Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 53: 84-01.

Sharief, M.U. (ed.) (2024). Flora of India 28: 1-764. Botanical Survey of India.

Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2010). Flora of China 23: 1-515. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

VERNACULAR NAME

Aceh: Bak juk
Afrikaans: Suikerpalm
Burmese: Taung-ong
Chinese (simplified): 砂糖椰子 - 桄榔
Chinese (traditional): 砂糖椰子
Dutch: Arenpalm, Suikerpalm, Zuikerpalm
English: Sugar Palm, Areng palm, Aren palm, Arengga palm, Black-fibre palm, Gomuti palm, Black sugar palm
Filipino: Kaong, Bagobat, Hidiok
French: Palmier à sucre, Palmier areng
German: Zuckerpalme, Echte Zuckerpalme
Hong Kong: 砂糖椰子
Indonesian: Aren, Enau, Pohon kolang-kaling
Japanese: サトウヤシ
Java: Aren, Ruyung, Kolang-kaling
Karo: Paula
Khmer: Chuëk', Chraè
Lao: Taw tad
Malaysia: Enau, Kabong, Berkat
Maluku: Mayang
Manado: Seho
Nusa Tenggara: Moka, Moke, Tuwa, Tuwak
Portuguese: Palmeira-do-açúcar, Gomuteira
Russian: Сахарная пальма
Sasak: Beluluk
Slovak: Arenga cukrová
Spanish: Palma de azúcar, Dátiles de azúcar
Sulawesi: Akol, Akel, Akere, Inru, Indu
Sumatera: Nau, Hanau, Peluluk, Biluluk, Kabung, Juk, Ijuk
Sunda: Kawung, Taren
Thai: ตาว
Toba: Bagot
Turkish: Palmiye

Aryo Bandoro
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