Oncosperma tigillarium (Jack) Ridley, Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Areca tigillaria Jack; Euterpe filamentosa Kunth; Oncosperma filamentosum (Kunth) Blume

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: ni bang ye zi

English: nibong, nibung palm

Malayan: nibung

Thai: lao cha on

Habit:  tree

Description:  "An immensely fabulous-looking, tall, large, slender, cespitose (tuft-forming) palm massed with armed trunks and beautiful, elegantly-arched, drooping, leathery fronds, which is sparsely distributed along the inland fringes of mangrove forest and other low, wet, swampy vegetation. Trunk slender, up to 15 cm in diameter, ringed with old leaf scars, numerous (up to 50), densely armed with scattered, slender black spines that are about 5 to 10 cm long; crownshaft conspicuous, armed with slender, black spines. Fronds pinnate (feather-shaped), ascending to spreading, pendulous, elegantly-arched, armed, dark to bright green. Inflorescences ramified (multi-branched), yellow, up to 80 cm long, infrafoliar (emerging from below the fronds), armed; flowers arranged in groups of 3 (2 male flowers to 1 female flower). Fruits globose, 1 cm in diameter, mildly-depressed, purple to black single-seeded (National Parks of Singapore).

"A tall (to 25 m) densely clumping palm, with up to 50 trunks, all of which are covered with long black spines. It has fine pinnate leaves, with very attractive, drooping leaflets"  (Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia).

Habitat/ecology:  "Lowland swampy rainforest"  (Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Indonesia (Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra), Malaysia, Thailand (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 64) Vulnerable
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Oncosperma tigillarium, please let us know.