hy-FEN-ay-ee or HY-fen-ay -- Greek: meaning woven; referring to the fibers on the fruit ... Dave's Botanary
dy-KAW-toh-muh -- meaning branching, divided or forked in pairs ... Dave's Botanary
commonly known as: branching palm, Indian doum palm, hoka tree, oka-mundel (archaic name) • Gujarati: દીવતાડ divtaad, હોકાતાડ hokaataad, માકાંબેરુ makamberu (archaic name), રાવણતાડ raavan taad • Konkani: रावण माड raavan maad • Marathi: रावण ताड raavan taad, रावण ताल raavan taal
botanical names: Hyphaene dichotoma (D.White bis ex Nimmo) Furtado ... homotypic synonyms: Borassus dichotomus D.White bis ex Nimmo ... heterotypic synonyms: Hyphaene indica Becc. • Hyphaene taprobanica Furtado ... POWO, retrieved 15 January 2026
Bibliography / etymology
Links listed as references in the notes below, may not remain valid permanently. Portals / websites have a tendency to re-organize / revise their content, leading to change in URLs of pages in their site. Some sites may even close down at their own will. The bits about the languages of India mentioned below are merely some bare facts gathered from the internet; just enough to satisfy curiosity about "where" could the listed names be best prevalent in India. All English transliterated names to be taken sensu amplo.
~~~~~ ENGLISH ~~~~~
written and spoken widely, in most parts of India
branching palm, Indian doum palm
- Marselin R Almeida, Naresh Chaturvedi - Trees of Mumbai - Bombay Natural History Society (1st Ed. 2006)
hoka tree
- Flowers of India, retrieved January 15, 2026
- Hoka Tree - Experiencing Diu - Through the Eyes of RA ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- or hoka palm tree ... Hoka palm trees - Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Division - ICH Archive ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- Google's AI Overview about this name's etymology:
- While often used simply as a proper name for the species, in some local Gujarati contexts, the word hoka (or hokka) can colloquially refer to something that is "crazy" or "mad", likely referring to the tree's unusual and irregular branching pattern which distinguishes it from typical straight-trunked palms.
- This name in all probability, named for the Okhamandal region (tip of the Saurashtra peninsula near Dwarka), which is a native habitat for this palm.
oka-mundel (archaic name)
- John Graham · 1839 · A Catalogue of the Plants Growing in Bombay and Its Vicinity - Government Press ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- Google's AI Overview about this name: Oka-mundel is an historically documented local name, found in early botanical texts like those from the 19th century, it is rarely used by locals today. It is likely derived from the Okhamandal region (tip of the Saurashtra peninsula near Dwarka), which is a native habitat for this palm.
~~~~~ GUJARATI ~~~~~
written in: Gujarati (ગુજરાતી) ... spoken in: Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu
દીવતાડ div taad, રાવણતાડ raavan taad
- Biological Diversity of Gujarat - published by Gujarat Ecology Commission ... (accessed on: Dec 16, 2020)
- Amar Shri Ratilal P. Chandaria's Gujarati Lexicon - the most comprehensive Gujarati language resource ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
હોકાતાડ hokaataad
- Amar Shri Ratilal P. Chandaria's Gujarati Lexicon - the most comprehensive Gujarati language resource ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- This name in all probability, named for the Okhamandal region (tip of the Saurashtra peninsula near Dwarka), which is a native habitat for this palm.
માકાંબેરુ makamberu (archaic name, was prevalent in Daman)
- Sheshagiri Rao Rolla (1970) The Doum Palms in India ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- Google's AI Overview about this name's etymology:
- The name makamberu is almost certainly of Swahili (East African) origin, brought to the Indian coast via the Portuguese maritime trade routes.
- Daman and Diu were key nodes in the Portuguese State of India (Estado da Índia), which heavily traded with Mozambique and the East African coast. It is highly probable that African sailors or the Siddi community (Indians of African descent) brought both the seeds and the original African name to Daman.
~~~~~ KONKANI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (कोंकणी) / Kannada (ಕೊಂಕಣಿ) / Malayalam (കൊങ്കണി) / Perso-Arabic (کونکنی) / Romi (Konknni) ... spoken in: Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat
रावण माड raavan maad
- name coined from Marathi, for want of name
~~~~~ MARATHI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (मराठी) ... spoken in: Maharashtra, Karnataka
रावण ताड raavan taad
- विकिपीडिया - मुक्त ज्ञानकोश ... Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
रावण ताल raavan taal
- Sheshagiri Rao Rolla (1970) The Doum Palms in India ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- The Gazetteer Department - Maharashtra State ... महाराष्ट्रातील वनस्पतीशास्त्र आणि वनसंपदा ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
~~~~~ KNOWN DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
*Andhra Pradesh, Dadra and Diu and Daman, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra
- Sheshagiri Rao Rolla (1970) The Doum Palms in India ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- Umerfaruq Qureshimatva, Lancelot D'Cruz, Hitesh A. Solanki and Santosh Yadav. (2018).Distribution of near threatened palm Hyphaene dichotoma (White) Furtado in Gujarat State and Union Territories Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, India. International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, 6(11), 3014-3017. ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- Pratibha Pande, Ana Margarida Pereira - A Reference Guide :: Goa’s National Park and Wildlife Sanctuaries (2014) - Forest Department, Government of Goa ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- CHECKLIST OF FLORA OF GUJARAT ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
- Andhra Pradesh :: Arigela, Ravi & Das, K.. (2010). Hyphaene dichotoma L. (Gingerbread Palm), Arecaceae - A rare, sacred and exotic palm tree in Andhra Pradesh. National Academy Science Letters. 33. 59-62. ... (accessed: Jan 15, 2026)
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Created on: 09:51 15-01-2026 ¦ Last updated: 23:54 15-01-2026 (DD-MM-YYYY)
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