Nypa fruticans Wurmb., Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Nipa fruticans Thunb.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: shui ye

English: mangrove palm, nipa, nipa palm, nypa palm, swamp palm

French: palmier d'eau, palmier des marais, palmier des marécages, palmier nipa

Japanese: nippa yashi, nippayasi

Kosraean: fals

Palauan: toechel

Pohnpeian: parem

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Stems prostrate except for briefly ascending tips, rhizomatous, subterranean under mud of riverine or mangrove swamps; leaves large pinnate, 3-5 m long, with about 42 pairs of segments, mostly alternate, linear, acute or attenuate, up to 170 cm long and over 6 cm wide, glabrous except for a few scales dorsal on the midrib; inflorescence axiallary, near the ground, pedunculate, erect, up to 75 cm long, monoecious; staminate flowers in dense bracteate spikes, about 3 mm long, stemens 3, fused, no pistillode; pistillate flowers in a globose head, perianth of 6 vestigial scales, carpels 3; fruit a large globose syncarp, the segments cuneate-obovoid, ribbed, capped by a short stigmatic beak.  The large fruiting heads reach a diameter of 30 cm, the individual segments a length of 10-11 cm.  The seed is edible when still young"  (Stone, 1970; p. 142).

Habitat/ecology:  "Low-lying estuarine tidally flooded areas, or sometimes in wet areas near the sea"  (Flora of China online).  On Guam:  "Introduced from the Philippines, where it is native, now naturalized at the mouth of most streams in Guam, although  not very common except on the east coast; fairly abundant on the Pago River, the Ylig River, and further south, where the water is brackish"  (Stone, 1970; p. 142).

Propagation:  Seed, rhizomes.

Native range:  India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland), Japan (Ryukyu Islands) (GRIN); Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands (Vander Velde, 2003; p. 33).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	native	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy (2010) (p. 6) Voucher cited: Lorence 8125 (PTBG)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	native	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 37) Vouchers cited: M.J. Balick 3861 (NY), A. Dores 116 (NY, BISH, PTBG), B. Ekiek 90 (NY, PTBG)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	native	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2008) (p. 4)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. (2008) (pp. 76-77) "Introduced in Jardin Botanique Harrison Smith botanic gardens in 1928, is locally naturalized in the garden but will not expand its distribution as suitable esturine habitat is scarce or lacking in French Polynesia".
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 142)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	native	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 15)
New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) New Guinea Island	New Guinea Island	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	native	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2010) (p. 8) Voucher cited: Lorence 8229 (PTBG)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Hainan
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 64)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information from the Palm and Cycad Societies of Australia.
Information from the CABI Invasive Species Compendium.
"Nypa fruticans, a Weed in West Africa"

Additional online information about Nypa fruticans is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Nypa fruticans as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Nypa fruticans may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2008. Checklist of the plants of Yap. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 20 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Palau. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 44 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 26 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe/Hodel, Donald R. 2008. Time Bombs in Gardens: Invasive Ornamental Palms in Tropical Islands, with Emphasis on French Polynesia (Pacific Ocean) and the Mascarenes (Indian Ocean). Palms; Journal of the International Palm Society 52: 23-35. .

Porcher, Michel H. 2011. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database. The University of Melbourne, Australia. Online resource.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).