Nannorrhops ritchieana (Griff.) Aitch.
سعف ، زبروت، عرف، عصف
For people
- Eaten by people
- Edible
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Not grazed
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
Several references record that the thin flesh of the small brown fruit is eaten, and that the young leaf bud ('palm cabbage'), young leaves and young flower cluster are eaten as a vegetable; no hazards are known. These uses are documented mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, not specifically from Oman, and cutting out the bud kills that stem of this slow-growing palm, so it should not be harvested from wild stands. The Omani field guide rates it as not grazed; no source describing livestock eating it, or being harmed by it, was found.
This guide is a hobby project, not expert advice. Never eat a wild plant, or feed it to animals, on the strength of this page alone. Read the disclaimer
Description
A hardy fan palm growing in shrub or mounding form to 3-6 m tall, spreading widely. Leaves have long smooth petioles terminating in a rounded fan of 20-30 leaflets with a distinctive glaucous blue-green to grey-green color. White flowers in 1.2-1.8 m long branching clusters. Edible fruits 1.3 cm in diameter, brown to orange.
Habitat
Gravelly wadi banks and beds, especially the lower parts of wadis where silt accumulates, and arid mountain slopes and valleys up to about 1600 m.
Distribution
Native to southwestern Asia, from southeastern Arabian Peninsula east through Iran and Afghanistan to Pakistan (historical region of Balochistan).
Pastoral value
Not a grazing plant.
Other uses
The leaves are a major source of fibre for weaving mats, baskets, ropes (the fibre is said to strengthen when wet, so it was used for fishing-net ropes), brooms and sandals, and are sometimes used for thatching; dry leaves and stems serve as fuel and the hard seeds are strung as prayer beads. The fruit flesh and the young bud are recorded as eaten. Grown as a hardy ornamental palm.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.147)
- Useful Temperate Plants (Ken Fern) — Nannorrhops ritchieana — temperate.theferns.info
- Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World — Nannorrhops (Henriette's Herbal; seen in search results) — henriettes-herb.com
- Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia — Nannorrhops (seen in search results) — hortflora.rbg.vic.gov.au
- UAE National Red List — Nannorrhops ritchieana (Near Threatened; habitat; occurs in adjacent Oman) — nationalredlist.org
- Wikipedia — Nannorrhops — en.wikipedia.org
- Environment Agency Abu Dhabi — Dwarf Palm (seen in search results) — ead.gov.ae
- PFAF: Nannorrhops ritchiana — pfaf.org
- University of Arizona Campus Arboretum: Nannorrhops ritchiana — apps.cals.arizona.edu