NIPA FRUTICANS

Distribution, botanical description, ecological and economic importance

NIPA PALMNypa fruticans

Outline of Presentation

• Taxonomy of Nypa fruticans

• Distribution

• Botanical description• Ecological importance

• Economic importance– Folkloric uses– Nipa shingle production

• References

Systematics of Nypa fruticans• Division - Spermatophyta• Subdivision - Angiospermae• Class - Liliopsida • Subclass - Gamopetalae• Series - Calycineae• Order - Pandanales• Family – Arecaceae• Genus – Nypa• Species – fruticans (Thunb.) Wurmb

Previous SN• Nipa fruticans Thunb.

• Cocos nypa Lour.

• Nipa littoralis Blanco

• Nypa arborescens Wurmb ex H. Wendl

Pandanaceae Nipaceae Arecaceae (Palmae)

NIPA – mangrove palm

• It occurs most commonly in areas where brackish water occurs, extending far upstream into permanent fresh-water areas where tidal-influenced water-level fluctuations are able to carry and deposit the seeds.

• It can occur on low flats and depressions near or far from the main water bodies, at the base of eroding slopes and cliffs, or on sandy ridges or embankments.

Does not exploit truly littoralenvironments nor canit tolerate inundation with undiluted sea-water for extended periods.

Distribution• widely distributed throughout coastal and estuarine

areas of south-east and east Asia, extending from Sri Lanka east to the Solomon Islands and north to the Ryukyu Islands (ca 25° N).

• India, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, northern Australia; also in Nigeria

Botanical description• A stout, subterranean, trunkless and

thornless rootstock.

• Leaves are at the ends of the rootstocks, large, rosette and compound, 5-10 meters long, arising from the stout underground stem (rhizome).

• Leaflets are numerous rigid, lanceolate, up to 1 meter long, 2 to 7 cm wide.

• The inflorescence is an erect monopodial axis bearing 7-9 lateral branches and ending in a pistillate head.

• Fruiting heads on the top of the erect stalk consists of compact, dry fibrous fruits with husks, 10 by 12 cm, ribbed or unevenly compressed to angular.

• The palm fruits are large, one-seeded.

Male inflorescence

fruits

Botanical description

Nipa in the fossil record• Specimen dating back to Paleocene or earlier, some 60

70 million years old

• Pollen found all throughout the world;– London clay, Bass Strait sediments, deserts of Asia

Minor, South America

• Reasons of abundance of Nypa fossils could be explained by the nature of its habitat (recurrent flood and sedimenation)

Ecological importance (Nipa plant community)

• Habitat to some animals (snails,clams, crabs, fish, etc.)

• Pollution sink• Buffer zone• Decaying plant biomass hosts to many

types of fungi

3 ecological group of fungi can be found:

1. obligate marine fungi - river mouth areas2. facultative marine fungi – river banks; inland3. terrestrial fungi

Source: Hyde, K.D and S. A. Alias, 2000.

Folkloric Uses• Decoction of fresh leaves used for indolent ulcers.

• Juice of young shoots, with coconut milk, used for herpes.

• Ash of roots and leaves used for headaches and toothaches.

• The fermented sap diluted with water used as eyewash in eyelid and conjunctival inflammations.

Economic importance• Leaves for thatching materials, tobacco wrappers, hats,

baskets, wrappings for native delicacies.

• midribs are used for making brooms; the petioles for fuel.

• The sap from the inflorescence stalk can be used to make toddy, vinegar or boiled down to sugar

• Young seeds are edible (attap chee -sweet, translucent, gelatinous balls used as a dessert ingredient)

Other uses of Nipa

• Nipa biomass used to adsorb metal ions in aqueous solution

Source: Wankasi, D, M. Horsfall Jr. And A. I. Spiff, 2005

• Nipa extract as corrosion inhibitors for zinc on HCl

Other uses of Nipa

Source:Orubite-Okorasaye, K. And N. C. Oforka, 2004

How to make a nipa shingle?

43-87 shingles per day; selling price 6-8 Pesos

PRODUCTION COST

1 bundle of Nipa – P 20Bamboo slats – P60 per 100 pcsMamban – P15 per 100 pcs

Nipa houses

An issue !!!!!!

• Nypa fruticans - a menace in Eastern Niger delta

• Introduced in Calabar in 1906; spread to Bony area

• Nypa control program “avert this ecological disaster... and to control the spread of Nypa palm in the worst sites of infestations“

References• Petters, S.W and I. Ewa-Iboho, 2005. Nypa Menace in Eastern

Nigeria. INCEED, Charlotte, NC, USA.• Hyde, K.D and S. A. Alias, 2000. Biodiversity and distribution of

fungi asscociated with decomposing Nypa fruticans. Biodiversity and Conservation 9: 393-402. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Netherlands

• Hyde, K. D, T. K. Goh, B. S. Lu and S. A. Alias, 1999. Eleven new intertidal fungi from Nypa fruticans. Mycol. Research 103

(11): 1409-1422.• Wankasi, D, M. Horsfall Jr. And A. I. Spiff, 2005. Desorption of Pb2+

and Cu2+ from Nipa palm (Nypa fruticans Wurmb) biomass). African Journal of biotechnology Vol. 4 (9), pp. 923-927.

• Orubite-Okorasaye, K. And N. C. Oforka, 2004. Corrosion inhibition of Zinc on HCl using Nypa fruticans Wurmb extract and 1.5 Diphenyl Carbazone. J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Mgt.

• Nypa fruticans Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia.

THANK YOU!!!

MARAMING SALAMATPO!!!

DANKE!!!