The Promises and Potentials of Nypa Fruticans Wurmb (Nipa)

Abstract

Nipa is said to be the mangrove counterpart of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.). It is the only palm considered a mangrove in the mangrove biome (Tropical Plant Book, 2011). However, is not a mangrove in the strict sense, as it does not exploit truly littoral environments nor can it tolerate inundation with undiluted sea-water for extended periods (Dowe and Tucker, 1993). In other situations, eudicotyledonous mangrove species occur with this plant. This palm gives man various products which are essential to his everyday living (Quimbo, 1991). The nipa palm grows abundantly along tidal streams, in brackish swamps and muddy riverbanks throughout Southeast Asia - in the Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and southward to north Queensland, Australia and in favorable habitats it is gregarious over large areas. It occurs also in India, through the Malay Peninsula and was introduced in Nigeria to curb coastal erosion (Tamunaidu and Saka, 2011).