| West African piassava palm | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Genus: | Raphia |
| Species: | R. vinifera |
| Binomial name | |
| Raphia vinifera P.Beauv. | |
| Synonyms | |
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Raphia vinifera, the West African piassava palm, bamboo palm or West African bass fibre is a palm tree species in the genus Raphia. It is native to Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Democratic Republic of the Congo ( = Zaire = Congo-Kinshasa). It is particularly abundant along the creeks of Niger Delta, Cross River, Lagos and Ikorodu in Nigeria.
The nut contains bitter oil, which has the property of stupefying fish.
References
- The Plant List
- NRCS. "Raphia vinifera". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew), 1891
- Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Raphia vinifera
- Ambroise Marie François Joseph Palisot de Beauvois. 1806. Flore d'Oware 1: 77–78, Raphia vinifera
- Trees of Nigeria. Keay, R.W.J., Clarendon Press Oxford. 444 p. (1989)
- The useful plants of West Africa (Tropical) Ed 2. Vol. 1., Burkill, H.M. (1985)
- Toxicity of Raphia vinifera, P. beauv fruit extracts on biochemical composition of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, Trewavas). Oyebamiji O. Fafioye, S. O. Fagade and A. A. Adebisi, Biokemistri 17(2):137-142 (Dec 2005)
- Otedoh, M.O. 1982. Journal of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research 6(22): 161, Raphia vinifera var. nigerica
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Raphia vinifera |
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