A hugely distinctive and gloriously majestic tree, the ravenala, or travellers' palm, has been a big part of my horizon for the last couple of months.
Depicted on the 100 Ariary note (2.5 pence!) and also on the state seal, it's a very useful fast growing tree.
The trunks are used to make the walls of the houses. This is then being prepared...
... and the leaves for roofing. A work in progress in the village.
Nerd facts about the ravenala palm:
- it isn't a palm but it's said to be related to the banana
- it's called the travellers palm because thirsty travellers can mine the base of the leaves for stored rain water
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