水椰 shui ye

Cocos nypa Loureiro; Nipa arborescens Wurmb ex H. Wendland; N. fruticans (Wurmb) Thunberg; N. litoralis Blanco.

Stems creeping, not visible, dividing equally, to 60 cm in diam., forming large colonies. Leaves stiffly erect; blades to 9 m with 57-100 pinnae per side, these regularly arranged and spreading in same plane. Inflorescences erect, to 2 m. Fruits brown, densely packed in a head-shaped infructescence, each obovoid, angled, to 15 × 10 cm.

Low-lying estuarine tidally flooded areas, or sometimes in wet areas near the sea. Hainan [Bangladesh, Cambodia, India (including Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Australia, Pacific islands (Solomon Islands)].

The leaves are commonly used as thatch, and the inflorescences are tapped for sugar and alcohol. There are many other minor uses.