ZALACCA, a genus of palms occurring in Malacca, Penang,, Assam, and the Tenasserirn Provinces. The leaves are employed as thatch and for baskets, etc.
Zalacca affinis, found at Malacca near Ching, where it is.known under the name of Salak batool, which means the true salak.
Zalacca Assamica Wall.; is a plant of Assam.
Zalaeca eonferta 'flourishes in very shady wet places in the great forests of Malacca, as at Ching and Katawn. It is the Asam-komber of Penang, and the Asam-paiah of the Malays of Malacca.
Zalacca edulis, Remvsat. Z. Rumphii, Wall., Calamus zalacca, Roxb. This tufted, short-stemmed pahn has leaves varying in size from 18 to 20 feet in length, common in swampy places about Malacca, the Tenasserim Provinces a,s well as in Burma. It is the Salak-komber of 'Penang. Its red scaly fruit is eaten by the natives. The light Selung boat in which the maiitime Selung race of the Mergui Archipelago shoot over their waters, owe their buoyancy to the stems of the edible zalacca, which form their sides. These stems are as light
as, and of the consistency of, cork, for which they are often substituted ; and the Selung are skilful in uniting them together to serve instead of planks, so as to make an unequalled sea-boat, that floats on the waves like a swan.
Zalacca glabrescens grows in Penang, where it is called salak.
Zalacca macrostachya grows in marshy, damp, and exceedingly shady places at Ching near Malacca. It is the Rungum of the Malays.
Zalacca secundia grows in forests about Kuju in Upper Assam, the Mishmi mountains, and on the lower ranges of hills on the borders of Upper Assam.—Seenian ; Voigt ; Mason's Tenasserini.