All are large palms with leaves ranging from 2–5 metres in length. They reach heights of 20–40 m and with a trunk diameter of up to 1-2.5 m. All the species are monocarpic and die after flowering. The genus is relatively slow growing and can take many years to form a trunk.
India: Assam, Andaman Islands, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Australia: Queensland, Northern Territory
Gallery
A traditional Filipinobuntal hat made from buri palm Corypha (gebang palm, buri palm or talipot palm, genus of palms (fanily Arecaceae)
Buri palm with fruits
Uses
In the Philippines, buri trees, like the sago palm, are used as sources of starch made into starch balls called landang. These are traditionally cooked into various desserts and dishes, most notably the binignit.[3]
The leaves are often used for thatching or can be woven into baskets, etc. Three kinds of fibres, namely buri (unopened leaf fibers), raffia (mature leaf fibers), and buntal (leaf petiole fiber), may be obtained from the plant. The midrib of the leaves are also used for weaving hats in the Philippines known as calasiao hats.[4] The Buntal Hat Festival is celebrated in Baliuag, Bulacan yearly every 6th of May.[5][6]
Kunth, Karl Sigismund Corypha miraguama, Nov. Gen., 1816, 1, p. 298. Accessed 2012-8-4.
The Old Market Gardens and Nurseries of London — No. 10, (52 MB file from archive.org) Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardner v. 57, 29 March 1877, p. 238. Accessed 2012-7-31. The Journal records John Fraser as bringing Corypha miraguama back from Cuba in 1807. See also Kunth, 1816, same location.
