Hyphaene petersiana
Stem to 20 m tall and to 35 cm in diameter, solitary or very rarely clustered; leaves 20-25; fruits more or less rounded, obovoid or ovoid, never regularly compressed, 5-8 cm long and 5-6 cm wide, rich red-brown to chestnut
This species is sometimes confused with Borassus aethiopum, the two taxa being easily distinguished by the well-defined petiole-spines in Hyphaene petersiana vs. erose spines in Borassus, and the elongate pointed segments in Hyphaene vs. the stiffer, broader, more rounded segments in Borassus (Dransfield, 2010).
This species is distributed in Tanzania, occurring from Lakes Manyara and Eyasi southwards; common throughout the Zambesi region, reaching N. Transvaal, through the Democratic Republic of Congo to the West coast of Africa in Angola and Namibia.
Hyphaene petersiana grows in the savannah or in secondary vegetation; it grows on sodic-saline alluvial soils with high water tables. In East Africa it grows in inland regions, usually confined to alkaline soils with relatively high water-tables; it is distributed from see level to 1300 m.