Nypa fructans 3P7A8431

Nypa fruticans ARECACEAE

Seeds of Nypa fruticans (Local name Nipah)  a very common palm of river mouths and brackish water river deltas  throughout Borneo. This is one of the most common  and distinctive drift seeds in Borneo.

USES:  The sweet transparent jelly inside the seed is  an ingredient of a popular drink  known as ice kachang. The palm leaves were previously used for attap roofing panels before the advent of  corrugated zinc roofs in Borneo. The  sweet sap of the flower buds was previously tapped to make a variety of products including  palm sugar (jaggery)  drinking alcohol (arrack) and industrial alcohol used to power vehicles.