Botany
Unlike the kaong, Gumayaka is a small, trunkless palm with thick and adventitious roots. Stems are not long, but relatively slender and occurring in clumps. Leaves are up to 5 to 8 meters long, spreading, with petioles 1 to 2 meters long, green, channeled along the base where the edges are fringede with black, ascending bristlelike fibers. The leaflets are linear, varying from 50 to 80 cm long and 1.5 to 4 cm wide, sometimes partially united at the apex, opposite or in alternating pairs, subglaucous underneath, the constricted base with a small lobe, truncate apex finely toothed, the midrib ridged beneath.Peduncles are about 30 cm long and 2.5 cm thick. Male flowers are on separate stalks, about 1 cm long, the petals bulgiing out along valvate sides. Fruiting spikes are pendulous, longer and more numeroous than the male spikes. Fruit is globose, smooth, thin-skinned, scanty pulp, dark red when ripe, and usually two-seeded.

Distribution
In thickets and secondary forests at low altitudes in Bataan, Batangas, Laguna and Quezon Provinces in Luzon; in Mindoro and Mindanao.

Medicinal properties
Intoxicant, soporific.

Uses
Folkloric
The bud (ubod), eaten in considerable quantity, is intoxicating followed by long periods of profound sleep.
Others
• Stems provide a strong and stiff fiber.
• Leaf stalks split for making baskets.

Toxicity
Fruit is poisonoous and contains irritating raphides in the percarp.

Availability
Wildcrafted.