Description

Salak pondoh has a characteristic taste that is sweet or not astringent since the fruit is still young. Salak pondoh (Salacca zalacca Gaertner Voss) belongs to the palmae family, has many thorns and shoots, grows into dense clumps

Classification

The position of Salak Pondoh at the taxon level is as follows:

Kingdom : Plantae

Division: Spermatophyta

Class : Liliopsida

Order: Arecales

Family: Arecaceae

Genus: Salacca

Species : Salacca edulis Reinw.

Description and Image

Habitus tree with a plant height of 1.5-5 meters, has a main stem whose segments are generally upright but can spread on the ground,
Salak plants have fibrous roots. The root distribution area is not wide, shallow, and easily damaged if there is a lack of water. New roots can appear on the surface of the soil when the old roots have less function. Old roots can be pruned after the young roots thrive, in this way the Salak will stay young and its production will not decrease.
The stem can branch. The main stem which is segmented is generally upright but can spread on the surface of the soil. The stem of the Salak plant is covered by densely arranged leaf sheaths.
Pinnate compound leaves, 3-7 meters long. The fronds and petioles have sharp spines, the spines are gray to black.
Salak flowers consist of male and female flowers found on different trees. The flowers are composed of compounds, covered by a sheath when they are young. The length of the male flower sheath is around 20 cm, the color of the male flowers is reddish brown, consists of 4-12 panicles, the male flower panicles are 4-15 cm long and the male flowers bloom for 1-3 days. The female flowers reach 40 cm in length, the female flowers are brown, have red spots and have 3 petals. Flowers that are ready to be pollinated are marked with red flowers and emit a fragrant aroma. The best time for pollination is the second day when the flowers bloom.

The type of Salak fruit is an inverted egg-shaped stone fruit, covered by an outer skin resembling yellow-brown to shiny red-brown scales. The middle fruit wall (sarkotesta) is thick, fleshy, creamy yellow to whitish, has a sweet and sour taste. Number of seeds 1-3 grains brown to black.

There are three types of pondoh salak seeds, namely black pondoh salak, super pondoh salak, and pondoh manggala salak.