raffia palm

tree

Also known as: Raphia ruffia

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

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The raffia palm, belonging to the genus Raphia, is a type of large palm tree native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. These palms are recognized for their large, pinnate leaves, some of which are among the largest in the angiosperm family. The raffia palm is valued for the fiber obtained from its petioles. This fiber is used in various applications, and a byproduct, raffia wax, is obtained from the leaves of raffia palms and similar species found in tropical Africa and South America. The genus Raphia is also found in America, indicating a distribution across continents for this genus.1234

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palm
Distribution
…areas; other species of the raffia palm dominate similar habitats in West Africa. The raffia palm occurs in nearly pure stands between marsh and dicotyledonous swamp forests along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Costa Rica, and Mauritia flexuosa is found in vast stands in inland parts of the Amazon…
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…areas; other species of the raffia palm dominate similar habitats in West Africa. The raffia palm occurs in nearly pure stands between marsh and dicotyledonous swamp forests along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Costa Rica, and Mauritia flexuosa is found in vast stands in inland parts of the Amazon…
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Central Africa
Growth of trade
…on fibre drawn from the raffia palm. The quality of the finished product, which sometimes had a velvetlike pile and a rich range of natural colours, was much admired by the first foreign visitors to the region. Indeed, raffia squares became the basis of colonial currency in the 17th century.…
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…on fibre drawn from the raffia palm. The quality of the finished product, which sometimes had a velvetlike pile and a rich range of natural colours, was much admired by the first foreign visitors to the region. Indeed, raffia squares became the basis of colonial currency in the 17th century.…
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African architecture
Forest dwellings
Raffia palm is also used by the Bamileke and the neighbouring Bafut and is an important material among the Kongo of Angola and the Bushongo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The most impressive of these structures are the rectangular, pitched-roofed meeting halls of…
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Raffia palm is also used by the Bamileke and the neighbouring Bafut and is an important material among the Kongo of Angola and the Bushongo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The most impressive of these structures are the rectangular, pitched-roofed meeting halls of…
Read More