The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Talipot \Tal"i*pot\, n. [Hind. t[=a]lp[=a]t the leaf of the
   tree.] (Bot.)
   A beautiful tropical palm tree (Corypha umbraculifera), a
   native of Ceylon and the Malabar coast. It has a trunk sixty
   or seventy feet high, bearing a crown of gigantic fan-shaped
   leaves which are used as umbrellas and as fans in ceremonial
   processions, and, when cut into strips, as a substitute for
   writing paper.
   [1913 Webster]
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

talipot
    n 1: tall palm of southern India and Sri Lanka with gigantic
         leaves used as umbrellas and fans or cut into strips for
         writing paper [syn: talipot, talipot palm, Corypha
         umbraculifera]