MANGROVE FAN PALM (Licuala Spinosa)
This is a bushy clumping palm that can grow up to 6 meter tall. Its alternate stalked palmate leaves are 45-60 cm wide with 15-18 leaflets that are 4-8 cm wide. Its 3-mm long flowers are grown in shoots that are branched, erect or arching, 4-5 together with each about 15 cm long. Its egg shaped fruits are bright orange when ripe and about 6 mm long. it grows in dry open places and slightly swampy areas, in beach vegetation or the secondary forest understorey. It can be found in many places including Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Borneo and Laos. In Singapore wilds, it is classified as vulnerable and it is not easy to spot this palm anymore. The leaves were used in the past for thatching roofs.