South African Vegetable Ivory or Real Fan: An African Palm

In Africa, Hyphaene ventricosa is known as the vegetable ivory, a product made from its incredibly hard seed´s endosperm or inner tissue. 

 

The nuts of this palms have a sweet and juicy outer pulp which reminds of gingerbread, leading to the name of  "Gingerbread palm".  

 H. natalensis, the Lala or Llala palm from Tongaland in KwaZulu-Natal´s  fermented sap is a source of wine (kallu) but this process eventually kills the plant...

Ilala nuts are a delicacy for elephants who swallow them whole, digest the flesh and excrete the seeds. 

This process cracks the hard outer shell and leaves the seed ready to germinate or carve.

Finally with the palm leaves locals weave beautiful baskets...