Nypa palm, Mangrove Palm

Where does Nypa palm grow?

Found in: Africa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Chuuk, Cuba, FSM, Guam, Guyana, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Kosrae, Malaysia, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Pohnpei, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, South America, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Africa, Yap

Notes: There is only one Nypa species.

Status: The palm occurs near mangrove swamps and along the shoreline, in Papua New Guinea. The nut is used especially by children.

Growing Nypa palm, Mangrove Palm

Cultivation: Plants can be grown from seed. Plants can be grown by dividing off suckers. To get the sap to flow in the stalk, the stalk must be banged and shaken then the end cut off and trimmed daily. Tree densities of up to 2,500 palms per hectare occur but only 700-750 are sap producing. Plants are spaced at 1.5-1.7 m giving 390 per hectare where plantings occur. Plants are pollinated by insects therefore contact insecticides need to be avoided. To collect sap the almost full grown head is cut off. About 2 mm of the tip is removed each day during sap collection. Sap flow is increased by banging the trunk and tapping the fruit stalk regularly.

Edible Uses: The young kernel inside the nut is edible. It is normally eaten while immature. Also the base of the "nut" is chewed. Sugar (or vinegar) can be obtained by collecting the sap from the fruit stalk. The sap can be used as a coagulant for buffalo milk cheese. It can be boiled down to produce sugar. Young shoots are eaten.

Production: Palms flower and fruit after 3-5 years. Yields of sap of up to 1,500 ml of sap per day per palm over one month can be achieved. Tapping can occur for 50 years. Yields can be 87,000 litres of sap per hectare. Near Kerema in Papua New Guinea it flowers in May and fruits in July. The season is later in the Western Province.

Nutrition Info

Nypa palm, Mangrove Palm Photos

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