Plant Community Structure, Fire Disturbance, and Recovery in ...

Contributions to the Study of Biological Diversity Vol. 3
CHAPTER 3.
THE MANGROVE PALM NYPA FRUTICANS WURMB.:
A WIDESPREAD EXOTIC SPECIES
IN NORTHWESTERN GUYANA
INTRODUCTION
Among the plant species present on the
Waini Peninsula, Nypa fruticans, the Asian
mangrove palm is of particular interest. One of
the most pressing current issues in
environmental conservation is detection,
documentation, and management of invasive
exotic species. That concern is exemplified by
the widespread presence of Nypa in the
Northwest District of Guyana. The growing
appreciation of the ecological, social, and
economic benefits of mangrove ecosystems has
focused attention on potential threats, in terms
of both the scientific and environmental policy.
The goals of this chapter is to more fully
document the presence of Nypa in South
America, review information that might be
relevant to understanding its arrival in the
Northwest District of Guyana, and examine its
possible sources and potential for spread within
the region, as a basis for future research and
appropriate management of the region’s
Riverine Mangroves.
NYPA HISTORY AND RANGE
Nypa fruticans Wurmb. is the only species
in the monotypic genus Nypa Steck. It is native
to the Indo-West Pacific region, thriving in high
sediment estuaries from the Philippines to the
Malay Peninsula, the Ganges Delta, Sri Lanka,
and Northern Australia (Tomlinson 1986).
Nypa’s trunk combines dichotomous branching
and rhizomatous habit, and grows beneath mud,
features unique among both mangroves and
palms (Tomlinson 1973, 1986; Uhl &
Dransfield 1987). It prefers habitats with
moderate salinities and low wave energy. Those
characteristics allow Nypa to form dense,
monospecific patches in the intertidal zone
along tropical estuaries.
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Nypa is an ancient genus. Through analyses
of fossil fruit and pollen evidence it has been
documented as one of the earliest known
mangrove genera, occurring in the Late
Cretaceous period (about 70 mya) (Duke et al.
1997; Ellison et al. 1999; Gee 1989), and pollen
representing Nypa is known from northern South
America at that time (Graham 1995). Nypa was
the dominant mangrove in the Neotropics,
including the western Venezuelan coast, in the
Middle Eocene period (45 mya) (Rull 1998,
2001) and was present in South America from
the Maastrichtian stage of the late Cretaceous
through the Eocene period (65-34 mya) (Gee
2001). It later disappeared from the Neotropics
sometime after the Late Eocene (40 mya) (Gee
2001; Graham 1995; Tralau 1964), and has been
restricted to Southeastern Asia since the
Miocene epoch (20 mya) (Ellison et al. 1999).
The ancient distributions of Nypa have been
used as an illustration of the principle of
continental drift (Raven & Axelrod 1975), and
Nypa pollen is one of the earliest identifiable
examples of a likely extant angiosperm species
(Tomlinson 1986).
Throughout its modern natural range in Asia
Nypa is heavily utilized. Descriptions of the
species and discussions of its utility have been
published for nearly a century (Conrado & Ayala
1906; Fong 1992; Halos 1981; Hamilton &
Murphy 1988; Miah et al. 2003; Päivöke et al.
1984). It is particularly valued for its leaves
which are used as thatching material (FAO 1994;
Miah et al. 2003) and is also used for production
of alcohol and vinegar derived from sap
collected from the cut peduncle (Melana 1980;
Miah et al. 2003; Päivöke et al. 1984). The
hardened endosperm of Nypa has been used as
a “vegetable ivory” similar to that of the Tagua
Palm, Phytelephas Ruiz & Pav., of Central
America and western South America, which in
the past has been considered possibly Nypa’s
closest relative within the Arecaceae. However