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Taxonomy

Current name: Nypa fruticans


Authority: Wurmb
Family: Palmae

Synonym(s)
Cocos nypa Lour.
Nipa fruticans Thunb.
Nipa litoralis Blanco

Common names

(Burmese) : dane
(Cambodia) : chak
(Filipino) : lasa (Tagalog), mangrove palm
(French) : palmier nipa
(Indonesian) : buyuk (Javanese)
(Malay) : nipah
(Papua New Guinea) : biri-biri (Koriki)
(Thai) : chak (general)
(Vietnamese) : d[uwf]a l[as]

Botanic description
A large, creeping, unarmed, pleonanthic, monoecious palm. Stem prostrate or subterranean
(rhizome), up to 45 cm in diameter, branching dichotomously at regular intervals, with curved
leaf scars above, and roots along the underside. Leaves in tufts of 3-5 per plant, erect, 4.5-14.2 m
long, simply pinnate; petiole very stout, up to 1.5 m long, channeled adaxially, terete distally,
dilated towards the base into a short sheath; leaflets up to 163 per leaf, linear, single-fold, 1.2-
1.5 m x 6.5-8.6 cm, coriaceous, midrib bearing appressed brown scales on lower surface.
Inflorescence solitary, interfoliar, erect, branched, multibracteate, protogynous, up to 2.1 m long
with a stout, terete, up to 2.4 m long peduncle; rachis usually shorter than the peduncle, terete,
terminating in a globose head of female flowers surrounded by numerous, short, catkin-like
rachillas (spikes) terminating the lateral branches and bearing densely crowded, spirally
arranged, solitary male flowers; most branches subtended by large, tubular, rubbery bracts
protecting flowers and fruits; male spikes usually in pairs, cylindrical, often slightly curved, up
to about 5 cm long; flowers extremely dimorphic but 6 perianth parts similar for both sexes;
male flowers with 3 stamens, filaments united into a column, without pistillodes; female flowers
without staminodes; carpels (pistils) 3, distinct, much longer than perianth, irregularly
polyhedric, curved and angled, with a funnel-shaped stylar opening. Fruiting head subglobose,
up to 40 cm in diameter, fertile and partially developed fruits intermixed; fruit a drupe,
developing from 1 carpel, compressed and irregularly angled, pyramidal, 10-15 cm x 6-8 cm,
brown to blackish, exocarp smooth, mesocarp fibrous, endocarp thick and composed of
interwoven fibrous strands. Seed broadly ovoid, grooved adaxially, hilum basal, endosperm
homogeneous. Germination is on the infructescence (viviparous), with the plumule exserted and
pushing the fruit away; eophyll bifid or with several leaflets. In South-East Asia, the size of the
nipa palm varies: in the Philippines plants are smaller than in Papua New Guinea and Malaysia.
In Malaysia, 2 forms of nipa palms are distinguished, ""nipah gala"" and ""nipah padi"", differing
in the tilt of the leaflets. No cultivars have been developed. With its prostrate, dichotomously
branched stem and its erect inflorescence bearing a terminal head of female flowers and lateral
spikes of male flowers, nipa palm occupies a unique position in the Palmae. It is considered an
advanced palm species, with a very long history; possible relations with the genera Pandanus
L.f. and Sararanga Hemsley (both from the Pandanaceae) have been suggested.

Ecology and distribution

History of cultivation
Nipa palm is one of the oldest angiosperm plants and probably the oldest palm species. Eocene
and miocene fossil findings in Europe, North America and the Middle East and the Paleocene
strata in Brazil suggest that nipa palm had a pantropical distribution 13-63 million years ago.
Today it is mainly found in the equatorial zone, 10 deg. N-10 deg. S, stretching from Sri Lanka
through South-East Asia to North Australia. It was introduced to West Africa in the beginning of
the 20th Century. The largest natural nipa stands are found in Indonesia (700 000 ha),
Papua New Guinea (500 000 ha) and the Philippines (8 000 ha). The northernmost natural
occurrence is on the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and the southernmost in North Australia. In South-
East Asia, nipa palm is also cultivated.

Natural Habitat
Nipa palm is a tropical plant. Its optimum climate is subhumid to humid. Nipa palm thrives
only in a brackish water environment. It is rarely seen directly on the seashore. Optimum
conditions are when the base and the rhizome of the palm are regularly inundated by brackish
water. For this reason, nipa palm occupies estuarine tidal floodplains of rivers. The optimum
salt concentration is 1-9 per mil. Typically, nipa palm forms pure stands, but in some areas it
grows mixed with other mangrove trees. In the understorey some Acanthus, Acrostichum and
Crinum species are found.
Nipa palm is one of the oldest angiosperm plants and probably the oldest palm species. Eocene
and miocene fossil findings in Europe, North America and the Middle East and the Paleocene
strata in Brazil suggest that nipa palm had a pantropical distribution 13-63 million years ago.
Today it is mainly found in the equatorial zone, 10 deg. N-10 deg. S, stretching from Sri Lanka
through South-East Asia to North Australia. It was introduced to West Africa in the beginning of
the 20th Century. The largest natural nipa stands are found in Indonesia (700 000 ha), Papua
New Guinea (500 000 ha) and the Philippines (8 000 ha). The northernmost natural occurrence
is on the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and the southernmost in North Australia. In South-East Asia,
nipa palm is also cultivated.

Biophysical limits
Average minimum temperature: 20 deg. C; Average maximum temperature: 32-35 deg. C;
Rainfall: 100 mm per month throughout the year. Soil types: Nipa palm swamp soils are muddy
and rich in alluvial silt, clay and humus; they have a high content of various inorganic salts,
calcium, and sulphides of iron and manganese, contributing to the typical odour and dark
colour. The pH is around 5; oxygen content is low with the exception of the topmost layers.

Reproductive Biology
First flowering occurs 3-4 years after germination. Pollination is effected by flies. In a mature
nipa palm stand, normally about one quarter to one half of the palms flowers or fruits randomly.
The fruits mature in 5-9 months. In young fruits the endosperm is liquid, becoming solid in
older ones.

Propagation and management

Propagation methods
Generative propagation is by seed (fruit) and vegetative propagation is through dichotomous
branching of the rhizome. In Papua New Guinea, the ""pocket and channel"" method has been
used successfully to propagate nipa palm. It involves placing fruits directly into 10-20 cm deep
pockets along the edge of irrigation channels.

Tree Management
Plantation: In the Philippines, seedlings are first grown in a seed-bed and then transplanted into
pockets. Spacing is 1.5-2 m, eventually thinned to about 400 plants per ha. Natural stands of
nipa palm are usually dense; in Papua New Guinea 2000-5000, in the Philippines up to 10
000 plants per ha occur. Husbandry: When utilized for sap production, very dense natural
nipa palm stands should be thinned and cleared of old leaf debris. These operations increase the
amount of light, improve the flowering frequency, and extend the flowering period as well.
Wider spacings apparently improve production. In palms tapped for sap, the cutting of leaves
for thatch will reduce yield. Preferably, old leaves should be cut out before they fall off, because
they might injure the peduncles of other palms in their fall.

Functional uses

Products
Food: In South-East Asia, there is a long tradition (hundreds of years) of using palm sap
obtained by tapping the inflorescence stalks (peduncle) as a source of treacle (molasses),
amorphous sugar ('gula malacca'), alcohol or vinegar.1 The slightly fermented sap called
'toddy' ('nera' in Indonesia and Malaysia, 'tuba' in the Philippines) is sold and consumed as local
beer. The white endosperm of immature seeds is sweet and jelly-like, and is consumed as a
snack. Medicine: Various parts of nipa palm are a source of traditional medicines (e.g. juice from
young shoots is used against herpes, ash of burned nipa material against toothache and
headache) and material for salt extraction. Other products: The long, pinnate leaves (fronds)
provide material for thatching houses. In the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand the
fabrication of thatching panels, called locally "shingles", "pawid" or "atap", is a significant local
source of income. Leaflets and midribs are used for manufacturing of brooms, baskets, mats and
sunhats. The cuticle of young, unfurled leaves, has locally been used as cigarette wrapping.
Some early trials to use the endocarp of mature fruits, called "plant ivory", for the manufacture
of buttons failed because they were vulnerable to attack by fungi, and have largely been
replaced by plastic materials.

Pictures from Surigao, North Mindanao (AH):

Pests and diseases


Pests: Nipa palm suffers from few diseases and pests. Rats in Papua New Guinea and pigs and
monkeys in northern Borneo may damage the peduncles. In Malaysia, damage of young

1Note that the first cars imported into the Philippines (Ford T) were powered by Nipa palm based
ethanol (AH)
peduncles by weevils was avoided by removing the rubbery bracts at an early stage of fruit
development when preparing the stalks for pretreatment and tapping. Grapsid crab is the main
pest of young seedlings.

Additional Information

Development
After maturing, the fruits are usually pushed off from the infructescence by the developing
plumule. They float on tidal water and start growing on suitable substrate. The radicle is
probably aborted and the first root that appears is likely to be the first adventitious root. The
seedling is prostrate first, but after being attached to the substrate, the plumule becomes erect
and additional adventitious roots arise from the lower part of the stem. In very young seedlings
the leaves are arranged distichously but later they become arranged spirally. At first, up to 8
bladeless sheaths develop per plant, followed by the first juvenile foliage leaves 3-6 months
after germination. During early growth the stem grows obliquely downwards until it is about 1
m deep in the ground (rhizome). About 1 year after germination the rhizome starts branching
dichotomously and a new plant develops vegetatively on each branch. This branching pattern
gives rise to the nipa palm ""colony"" structure of a mature stand, in which older rhizome parts
decay simultaneously and dichotomous divisions produce new plants. There is also a constant
decay of old leaves and formation of new ones throughout the life of a nipa palm, which is
estimated to be about 50 years. Frequently, more than one infructescence develops
simultaneously per plant. In Papua New Guinea, the weight of one infructescence is 6-30 kg and
its circumference 1.1-1.4 m, bearing 88-133 individual fruits.

Properties
Food: Fresh nipa palm sap has an average density of 1.076 g per litre in the Philippines and
1.062 g in Papua New Guinea. The dry matter content is 17.0% and 18.3% respectively. The
sucrose content of the sap is 15% in the Philippines and 16.4% in Papua New Guinea, and the
corresponding nitrogen contents are respectively 0.049 g and 0.030 g per litre. In Papua New
Guinea, the fresh sap has a pH of about 7.5 as it drips from the peduncle. Other products: The
leaves of nipa palm are rich in fibres, which make them particularly lasting for weaving and
thatching material. The average life-time of ""shingles"" is a few years. Tannin or dyestuff:
Leaves may also contain up to 10% tannin2.

Trade
There are no internationally traded products of nipa palm. The production of thatching material,
sugar, vinegar, mats and baskets has only local significance. The sugar, produced in family
enterprises in Malaysia and Thailand, is used for confectionery and for small-scale production of
distilled spirits. Recently, a pilot scheme was established in West Kalimantan (Indonesia)

2 Tanbark: the leaves may be used to counter the yeast killing bacteria in the tuba (AH)
to produce sugar from nipa palm on a larger scale. It is planned to exploit some 10 000
ha. The production of fuel alcohol from nipa palm was seriously studied in the 1920s in
the Philippines and Malaysia, and in the early 1980s in Papua New Guinea. Because of the
high input of manual labour required to produce fuel alcohol, the process was not
economically feasible in Papua New Guinea, whereas vinegar and treacle showed good
potential for cottage-industry development. The quality and price of vinegar produced with
the method developed, compared favourably with commercially produced vinegars elsewhere.

Yields
Harvesting : Tapping of nipa palm can start from the development of the second inflorescence
onwards, when plants are about 5 years old. Before sap can be obtained, peduncles must be
pretreated or ""gongchanged"". The modality, frequency and duration of this treatment varies.
The most detailed and recent account is from Papua New Guinea, where the optimum frequency
was 4 times a week during 10 weeks. The treatment consists of bending the peduncle of the
infructescence 12 times, patting along the length of it with hands 64 times and kicking its base 4
times3. The treatment can be performed at various stages of development, starting 2-6 months
after flowering. The infructescence is then chopped off. To ensure sap flow the cut surface of the
peduncle should be renewed, ""shaved"", by slicing 1-2 mm off, twice a day. An internode of
bamboo or another container is hung or tied to the peduncle to collect the sap. The duration of
sap tapping depends on the length of the peduncle. In Papua New Guinea, the individual
peduncle can be tapped for 100 days, in Malaysia for 340 days, in Indonesia for 300 days
and in the Philippines for 60 days. Contradictory information exists on the number of
peduncles per plant that can be tapped simultaneously. Early studies showed that 2-4 peduncles
per plant can be used, but later experience in Papua New Guinea indicates that it is preferable to
tap only one per plant. When palms are harvested for thatching material, mature leaves may be
cut off near the ground, on condition that 2-3 leaves are left on the plant. Yield : In Papua New
Guinea, sap yield per plant in 24 hours is 1.3 l, in Malaysia 0.47 l, in Indonesia 2.5 l and in
the Philippines 1 l. In Indonesia annual sap yield per ha can be 168 500 l, in Papua New
Guinea 169 000 l, in Malaysia 140 000 l and in the Philippines 126 000 l. 4 Cloudy weather
decreases transpiration and increases sap yield but high soil salinity has a decreasing effect.
Yield also decreases near the nodes of the peduncle; genetic factors may also be involved. Young
stands of nipa palm may be higher yielding than old ones, albeit there is no reliable method for
estimating the exact age of a nipa palm. It has been calculated that 15-20 t of sugar per ha per
year can be obtained from nipa palm as compared with 8-9 t from sugar cane. Handling after
harvest : When sap is collected in a bamboo container, fermentation starts quickly. The
alcoholic fermentation is completed within 30 hours, resulting in an alcohol content of
6.2-9.5%. Thereafter, the spontaneous acetic acid fermentation proceeds. This process is
utilized in the Philippines, where vinegar is produced by natural acid fermentation. The acid
content, however, remains low (2-3%) as compared with the simple surface film method, using
pure Acetobacter species, developed in Papua New Guinea. There, the final acetic acid content
was 6.2-7.2% and the product could be diluted to a 4% commercial product. The ease with
which sap sugar inverts from sucrose into glucose and fructose, and the beginning of
fermentation of the sap are disadvantages in sugar making. Various methods of inhibiting the

3 Similar treatment for Sugar palm (AH)


4 Assume ethanol content of roughly 10% (AH)
inversion have been tested, including sterilizing the bamboo containers by heat and alcohol. The
latter was successfully used in Papua New Guinea, where after 17 hours, the alcohol content of
the sap was less than 0.5%, meaning a loss of less than 1% of sucrose. Earlier, the addition of
lime, potassium or sodium bisulphite or sulphite, copper sulphate or acetate or formaldehyde
had been tested.

Genetic
Genetic resources and breeding: No germplasm collections are available and there seems to be
no actual need to start breeding in nipa palm.

Prospects
Nipa palm has a good potential for sugar, vinegar and alcohol production. The sugar is already
available in the form of sucrose. Sap is in liquid form, so there is no residual bagasse problem as
with sugar cane. Nipa palm also occupies lands that are unsuitable for other food crops5.
Tapping can be carried out all the year round, thus minimizing seasonal labour movement and
associated social problems. The disadvantages of exploiting nipa palm include the high demand
for manual labour (5 per ha) as compared with sugar cane, and the difficulty of getting
machinery into wild stands because of the soft soils and fluctuating water levels. For a nipa palm
sugar industry to be developed successfully, non-toxic methods must be developed to inhibit
rapid inversion of sucrose and fermentation of the sap. Further research is needed to clarify the
physiological mechanisms that regulate sap flow and the effect of pretreating the peduncle.
These might prove to be the keys in the effort to decrease the high demand for manual labour in
utilizing nipa palm. Potentially, nipa palm might become an energy crop, since it can
produce annually about 11 000 l of alcohol per ha. This is substantially more than the
production obtained from sugar cane (5 500 l) and cassava (1350 l). But, while prices on the
world market for fossil energy remain low, it will not be a serious alternative.

Bibliography

Põiv÷ke, A.E.A., 1996. Nypa fruticans Wurmb. In Flach, M. & Rumawas, F. (Eds.): Plant Resources
of South-East Asia No. 9. Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. Prosea Foundation, Bogor,
Indonesia. pp. 133-137.

5Not only that, but mangroves and swamps are usually close to a port of sorts, which may make Nipa
based ethanol better suited as an export product (AH)

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