Umukindo (Wild Date Palm, Senegal Date Palm)
Phoenix reclinata
A multi-stemmed, clustering palm common along rivers, lake shores and wetland margins across Africa. Its edible fruit, wine-yielding sap and fibrous young leaves have made it a widely used utility palm, and in Rwanda its young fronds are traditionally carried on Palm Sunday.
- Kinyarwanda name
- Umukindo
- English name
- Wild Date Palm, Senegal Date Palm
- Scientific name
- Phoenix reclinata
- Family
- Arecaceae
Habitat
Riverbanks, lake shores, swamp margins and other permanently or seasonally wet ground.
Distribution
Widespread across sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar; common around Rwanda's lakes and wetlands.
Uses
Fruit is edible; the sap gives a palm wine; fibre from young unopened leaves is used to make carpets, kilts and brooms; young fronds are used in Palm Sunday celebrations.
Ecological importance
Dense root systems stabilise wet, erosion-prone riverbanks and lake shores; fruit is eaten by birds and mammals.
Ibisobanuro
Imbuto ziraribwa, amababi akiri mato bayakoramo imikeka n'imikubuzo. Ku munsi wa Mashami (Kiriziya Gatorika) bakoresha amababi y'umukindo akiri mato.