![]() ![]() The last product that can be made from kaong palm is starch which can only be obtained by cutting the tree. Product outputs are originally black but they can be made into different colors using dyes. Cabo negro are initially used in making ropes and as many studies and research concluded its promising capacities, it is now used as cleaning brushes, filters, thatching materials, fishing materials, baskets, bags, home decors, and other handicrafts. Cabo negro is a black, horsehair-like fiber that’s well-known for its durability to either fresh or salt water, and for being fire-resistant. On the other hand, ripe fruits of kaong are said to be a violent poison for dogs.Ĭonsidered as the most important industrial yield of this palm is the black, tough fiber locally known as “yumot “or “cabo negro” (commercially known as gomuti fibers). Roots of kaong palms are also used as insect repellents in some provinces. Sap are then processed to derive different products such as tuba (a distilled liquor), vinegar, sugar, syrup, alcohol, bio-ethanol, and as feeds for hogs. Normally, a tapper could collect 10 to 12 liters of sap per day per tree. Sap is generated through the help of fruit flies which aids in the production of sap in the palm tree. Stalks could be tapped for its sweet sap a few months before the flowering. Another important food product from kaong is the vinegar which is derived from the palm’s sap. This kaong gel is a very popular ingredient for salad and can be eaten alone as dessert. Processed sweet kaong gels are usually immersed in syrup and are put inside jars which are available in many stores and supermarkets in the country. ![]() Moreover, its buds make an excellent salad while the immature seeds are being boiled with sugar to form a kind of sweetmeat/gel which is then bottled and made into the well-known Kaong ingredient for different desserts such as Filipino’s “halo-halo”. Photo and copyright: Sugar Palm Research, Information and Trade Center via Facebook | In other traditional systems, kaong roots’ decoction is used for bladder problems, lungs assists digestion and improves appetite. Also, the midribs of the leaves are cleaned and used as rough brooms. The leaves are sometimes used for thatching roofs, and are woven into coarse baskets and roofs for cottages in resorts. ![]() Just like other palm trees, kaong palm has a firm trunk/bark that can be used as barriers, flooring, furniture and tool handles. Kaong palms provide a variety of products and benefits such as food source, food ingredients, medicinal benefits, crafts, and furniture. Furthermore, kaong palm trees are widely distributed throughout the country as it grows in natural stands or cultivated in most islands and provinces. Countless kaong trees thrive along waterways in the town of Indang, Cavite that is why it is tagged as the “Kaong Capital of the Philippines”. The Kaong palm tree grows close to human settlement and sometimes grows in the secondary forests to the border of primary rainforests. It can be found in Luzon (Rizal, Cavite, Bataan, Laguna, and Quezon), Polillo Island, Biliran, Visayas region and Mindanao region. Usually abundant in forested areas in lowland up to the altitude of about 1400 meters, kaong palms are endemic in the Philippines. Photo and copyright: Worldwide Fruits List | Arenga pinnata (Sugar palm or Aren) The jelly bean-shaped seed inside is smooth and translucent white. The fruit is rounded or depressed rounded, about 5 centimeters in diameter, contains 2 to 3 seeds, and turns from green to yellow. Flowers usually become ripe fruits in a span of two to five years that’s why one can see fruits in the palm almost all year round. The male flower, in a dense cluster of 4 feet long, is purple and has an unpleasant odor while female flower clusters are longer and ripen very slowly into glossy, plum sized fruits. Once maturity is reached, kaong palm starts to develop flowers. ![]() Each stalk can grow to up to 8.5 meters and can have 100 or more pairs of linear leaflets (up to 1.5 meters long) attached to its sides. As the tree grows taller, its stout trunk gets distinct disk-shaped scars from stalks that are already detached to it. The base part of the stalk (the part that is attached to the trunk) is protected with firm black fibers called “kabo-negro”. The stalks attached to the trunk have leaves that are arranged on each side. Upon reaching its maturity age which is more than 15 years, it grows to a height of up to 15 meters and a diameter of about 40 centimeters. Kaong palm, also known as sugar palm, is an upright medium-sized palm tree. ![]()
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