The milk present in the young fruit is similar to coconut milk in taste and colouring. Elephants eagerly consume the newly formed leaves, which are crisp at their base and have a pleasant coconut flavour. The crown-heart is eaten as a vegetable and is known in the Delta as 'gau'. The pulp of the fruit resembles gingerbread. To extract the pulp, the hard exocarp is hit with a stick. The pulp is quite palatable and eaten particularly by elephants and baboons. These palms are widely exploited as a source of wine and unfortunately many are killed as a result. Palm swifts are closely associated with this palm. They can be seen nesting in a vertical position underneath the leaves. These birds have evolved a unique method of preventing the eggs from falling by gluing them in place with saliva. The hard white kernels of the seeds, closely resembling the commercial vegetable ivory of South America, are too small to be of any economic importance though they are often used to make ornaments, trinkets and curios.