Nipa palm

A trunkless palm that forms green walls along the Brunei River – its leaves once roofed the houses built over the water.

The nipa palm is an unusual palm whose trunk grows horizontally beneath the mud, so that only plumes of pinnate leaves up to 9 m long rise above the surface. It grows in the brackish water of estuaries and mangroves, where it forms dense, extensive stands. Its globular fruit heads are made up of many woody fruits that float and are carried away by currents. Sweet sap collected from the inflorescences is turned into sugar, vinegar and drinks, while the leaves are used for thatching and weaving mats.

Significance in the country

Nipa surrounds Kampong Ayer – the historic “water village” in the capital – and lines the shores of Brunei Bay. For centuries its leaves were the main roofing material of traditional stilt houses, and nipa still shapes the landscape of Brunei’s rivers.

Where it grows

In estuaries and mangroves along the whole coast – the most extensive stands fringe Brunei Bay, the Brunei River and the deltas in Temburong, as well as the estuaries of the Tutong and Belait rivers.

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