Nipa Palm (Nypa fruticans)

Family: Arecaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Nipa Palm or Nypa fruticans, a native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is an unusual palm tree because its trunk grows beneath the ground and only its leaves and flower stalks grow above the surface.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Flowers, Sap/Syrup

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

delicious creamy flavour. — Harvested when the fruits are immature, the seed has a delicious creamy flavour.; The white endosperm of immature seeds is sweet and jelly-like, and is consumed as a snack.; The mature seeds are sometimes eaten, but are very hard.; A sugary sap is obtained from the inflorescence.

Habitat & North American Range

Mangrove swamps, tidal areas in deep mud in swampy coastal lowland areas, growing in water or subject to tidal inundation. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)