Branching Palms

                                               This palm is situated in Western Part of Delft. 0Palm trees are characterized by having un-branched stems. Among the species of Palm family (Arecaceae), the Hyphaene genus has branched stems. This is very abnormal and a very rare occurrence in Palm family. Doum palm or Gingerbread tree, botanically known as Hyphaene dichotoma is a close relative of Palmyra palm. They are exotic plants having edible oval fruit which are red orange in color and tastes like gingerbread. It is believed that Gingerbread trees were brought into Sri Lanka by Portuguese during the colonial period. It is one of the palms among the three found in the Jaffna District.