The word Ola derives from the Tamil word Ōlai, meaning palm leaf (leaf of Corypha umbraculifera

or the talipot palm).

Corypha umbraculifera, the talipot
palm, is a species of palm native to
eastern and southern India and Sri
Lanka. It is also grown in Cambodia,
Myanmar, China, Thailand and the
Andaman Islands. It is a flowering plant
with the largest inflorescence in the
world. It lives up to 60 years before
bearing fruits and flowers. It dies
shortly after.
It is one of the largest palms with individual
specimens having reached heights of up to
25 m (82 ft) with stems up to 1.3 m (4.3 ft)
in diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae
tribe Corypheae), with large, palmate
leaves up to 5 m (16 ft) in diameter, with a
petiole up to 4 m (13 ft), and up to 130
leaflets.

The tree is known as kudapana

(കുടപ്പന) in Malayalam, talo
(/tɑːloʊ/, ତାଳ) in Odia, and kudaipanai
(குடைப்படை) in Tamil, which
means umbrella palm. The plant is
known as tala (තලා) in Sri Lanka, by
local Sinhalese people.