page_title: Raphia australis
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Raphia australis / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Raphia australis at Umdoni Bird Sanctuary, Amanzimtoti, South Africa
context_page_description: Raphia australis, the giant palm or rafia, is a species of raffia palm in the family Arecaceae. It is found around Kosi Bay in southern Mozambique and northeastern KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by drainage of its habitat for agriculture; it is being threatened in the Bobole Special Reserve but is more secure in the Kosi Bay area.
context_section_description: Raphia australis is a large palm with a single trunk, growing to a height of 24 m (80 ft). The leaves are long and arching, the bases of the leaf stalks sheathing the trunk. The leaves are pinnate, the centre stem or rachis being robust and brown, while the leaflets have a single fold and are shiny green above and waxy and bluish-green below. The main veins and the margins of the leaflets are spiny. This palm was for a long time thought to be the same species as Raphia vinifera, but that has proved not to be the case, the most obvious difference being that the flower stems of R. australis are erect while those of R. vinifera dangle downwards.
caption: Raphia australis
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