Caryota is a genus of palm trees. They are often known as fishtail palms because of the shape of their leaves.
As of May 2026, the genus comprises 14 accepted species, with a native distribution ranging from the Indian subcontinent and southern China, extending in a south-east direction to Queensland, Australia and Vanuatu.
One of the more widely known species is caryota obtusa, the flowers of which are used to make one type of jaggery (an unrefined sugar), and also to make palm wine. Caryota mitis is native to Indochina, but has become an invasive introduced species in the US state of Florida. They are also one of the few Arecaceae with bipinnate foliage. Many grow in mountainous areas and are adapted to warm mediterranean climates as well as subtropical and tropical climates.Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Fishtail palms contain raphides.
Species Image Scientific name Distribution Caryota albertii F.Muell. ex H.Wendl. QueenslandCaryota angustifolia Zumaidar & Jeanson Sulawesi Caryota cumingii Lodd. ex Mart. Philippines fishtail palm - Philippines Caryota elegans Schaedtler Caryota kiriwongensis Hodel Thailand Caryota maxima Blume Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan, Bhutan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Java, Sumatra, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam Caryota mitis Lour. Burmese fishtail palm - Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Borneo, Cambodia, India, Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam Caryota monostachya Becc. Vietnam, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan Caryota no Becc. Borneo Caryota obtusa Griff. Thailand mountain palm - Bhutan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand Caryota ophiopellis Dowe Vanuatu Caryota rumphiana Mart. Albert palm - Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Bismarck Archipelago Caryota sympetala Gagnep. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Caryota urens L. Southern India, Sri Lanka; naturalized in Assam, Bangladesh, Bonin Islands, Southern China, Nepal, Myanmar, Andaman Islands, Malaysia, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico - jaggery palm, solitary fishtail palm, wine palm, toddy palm Caryota zebrina Hambali & al. New Guinea
Gallery
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile GRIN Species list Palm Guide