Nypa

Scientific name

Nypa Steck

Common names

nipa palm, mangrove palm

Family

Arecaceae

Similar genera

Chamaedorea, Pandanus

Native distribution

mainly in the equatorial zone, stretching from Sri Lanka through South-East Asia to North Australia

Species cultivated

Nypa fruticans Wurmb is occasionally available for sale or trade

Adventive distribution

introduced to West Africa (Cameroon, Nigeria), Central America (Panama) and the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago)

Weed status

Nypa fruticans is a weed threatening mangrove vegetation in coastal zones.

Habit

emergent emergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
palm forming large colonies

Brief description

Large palm tree; stem prostrateprostrate:
(adj) growing closely along the ground
or subterranean, branching, bearing curved leaf scars; erect shoots arise at each rhizomerhizome:
(n) an underground stem, usually growing horizontally, from which both roots and shoots emerge directly; the thick, above-ground stem of ferns
branch. Leaves basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
, erect; petiolepetiole:
(n) the stalk of a leaf
very stout, with a short basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
sheath; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
pinnate; leaflets numerous, linear, midribmidrib:
(n) the main or central vein, line or rib in a leaf or perianth segment
with appressedappressed:
(adj) pressed closely to or lying flat against
brown scales below. Pedunclepeduncle:
(n) the stalk of a flower cluster or inflorescence
round, longer than main inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
axisaxis:
(n) the main stem; the central column of an inflorescence or other structure
; inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
axillaryaxillary:
(adj) in, of, or produced from an axil
, erect, branched; female flowers in an apicalapical:
(adj) of the apex
globose headhead:
(n) inflorescence consisting of small closely packed stalkless flowers or florets arising at the same level on a flattened axis; of several types, including: discoid (composed entirely of disk flowers) and radiate (composed of central disk flowers and marginal ray flowers)
; lower branches terminating in catkin-like rachillas of densely crowded, spirally arranged male flowers; all branches subtended by large, tubulartubular:
(adj) (of a corolla, perianth, calyx tube or other structure) (1) tube-shaped; cylindrical: narrow and elongate with more or less straight sides; (2) having segments fused into a tube (of any shape)
, rubbery bracts. Infructescence subglobose, fertilefertile:
(adj) producing viable seed, spores, or pollen; capable of reproducing
and partially developed fruits intermixed; fruit a drupedrupe:
(n) fleshy indehiscent fruit in which the seed or seeds are surrounded by a hardened endocarp (as in a cherry)
, compressed, irregularly angled, brown to blackish; seed ovoidovoid:
(adj) egg-shaped in three dimensions
, adaxially grooved; dispersed by water.

Natural habitat

brackish water environments, estuarine tidal zones (especially of river floodplains); rarely seen directly on the seashore

Additional comments

Nypa (also known as Nipa) is an unusual and monotypicmonotypic:
(adj) represented by a single example (species)
genus of palm. It is one of the only palms found in muddy estuarine habitats and is distinctive for its rhizome-like trunk that grows laterally underground with elongate fronds projecting vertically.