What is "balaka"

Balaka may refer to:

• Balaka District, a district in Southern Region, Malawi
• Balaka Township, Malawi, a city in the aforementioned district
• Balaka (plant), a genus of palm trees
• the Nickname for Biman Bangladesh Airlines

Balaka is a genus of 9 known species in the palm family, Arecaceae or Palmae. Seven species are native to the islands of Fiji and two to Samoa. The genus was first proposed and published in Annales du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg 2: 91. 1885, from two species originally in the genus Ptychosperma (P. perbrevis and P. seemannii).