Species · genus Caryota · Arecaceae

Jaggery Palm

Caryota urens L.

Also known as: Fishtail Palm · Solitary Fishtail Palm · Toddy Palm · Wine Palm · Kitul-tree

Growth habit

tree

Native range

India, Sri Lanka

Reference · C. urens

Cultivars of C. urens

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under C. urens yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Caryota urens is a tall fishtail palm from the moist tropical forests of India and Sri Lanka, where it grows as an understory-to-canopy tree in warm, humid conditions. Give it bright indirect light and a well-draining mix, watering when the top inch or two of soil has dried; it tolerates a short dry spell better than sitting soggy, which invites root rot. As a palm it dislikes cold drafts and prefers steady warmth.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-12d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 12 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

16–29 °C

Soil mix

Rich, well-draining mix kept evenly moist

Propagation

Grown from fresh seed; single-trunked, no suckers

Fertilizing

Balanced feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Does not flower indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Caryota fruit and tissues contain irritant calcium oxalate crystals (raphides), characteristic of this palm. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-12d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Jaggery Palm yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.