Latanier chapeau
Fan palm
Sabal causiarum
A native to Hispaniola, the fan palm is often grown from seed because of the great utility of its fronds. It is most abundant in the dry hills that adjoin the Cul-de-Sac and the south coast. Rouzier wrote of Fond-Parisien in 1891: "On y cultive beaucoup de pitre, de lataniers et de pois rouge."
From the thin strips of the leaves, hats, cord, paniers, and sacks are plaited. In some ares such as Port-Salut and Cayes-Jacmel there is a sizeable cottage industry in palm products which are carried to markets in other sections of the country. The hats may either be plaited in one piece, beginning with the crown, or they may be made up by sewing together braided bands of about 2.5 cm (1 inch) width with a slight overlap. Women's hats have a hemispherical crown and a broad upturned brim, whereas the men wear hats with crowns the shape of a gently tapered truncated cone and with fist brims. Geometrical patterns are incorporated into some of the hats by variations in the weave, into others by the use of dyed palm strips, or the two techniques may be combined. Cord of fan palm leaf is prized for marine use in rigging on nets because of its durability under exposure to salt water. Large sacks (jakout) for hauling charcoal and produce, paniers for use with pack animals, and handbags are also made with plaited palm leaf. Both men and women in the shade of the porch or of a tree in the courtyard braiding or plaiting the palm strips. In preparation for making hats the palm fronds are thoroughly bleached in the sun; for purely utilitarian objects such as sacks or cord, the green fronds are adequate.
Mahaut franc
Lime-tree-leaved hibiscus
Hibiscus tiliaceous
The term "mahaut" derived from the Island Arawak "mahagua" refers to plants that produce best fiber. Among the sources of best fiber used by the Haitians are: bois d'orme (Guazama uimifolia), coussin (Urena lobata), cacao (from pruning), trompette (Cercopia peltata), wild banana (Heliconia bihai), mahaut (Pavonia spicata), mahaut dême (Ochroma pyramidalis), and mahaut franc (Hibiscus tiliaceous). Rochefort wrote of mahôt franc and mahôt d'herbe on Martinique. Tussac stated that mahôt (H. tiliaceous) grew near the sea in Saint-Domingue.
Natives propagate mahaut franc with cuttings, they strip the bark, dry it, and make it into cord.
Palmiste
Royal Palm
Oredoxa regia
The stately royal palm is esteemed as an ornamental along driveways and boulevards and in local courtyards, as well. Propagation is by seed. As a field tree, the royal palm is far less common in Haiti than in the Dominican Republic or Cuba, and houses of split palm are proportionately less numerous.
A choice food for fattening hogs, the clusters of seeds are cut down by a man who climbs the smooth trunk with the aid of a rope which girdles his waist and the palm like a telephone lineman's belt. The fronds are used for thatch and the manufacture of rope; the spathes serve as covers for the ridgepoles, as crude raincoats, and as material for the fabrication of cylindrical containers in which black sugar (rapadou) is packaged. Palm cabbage, either raw or cooked, is a specialty food for Good Friday. Split palm is used for siding in a few areas, and small pieces, one meter by five centimeters by nine centimeters, and are used for wattles.
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