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Oncosperma tigillarium
Also called Nibong, Nibong Palm
In Singapore: Nibung, Nibong, Nibung Palm (Native to Singapore, Least Concern)
Nibung palm is a spiny, clump-forming palm tree from Southeast Asia that grows in dense thickets, often in damp, low-salinity ground near mangroves. It needs warm, humid, wet conditions and plenty of room, so it is mainly grown outdoors in the tropics.
Oncosperma tigillarium, commonly known as Nibong palm is an Asian species of palm tree in the family Arecaceae.
The species is known from inland, lower salinity waters, near mangrove swamps of southern Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, in Southeast Asia. It is native to these areas west of the Wallace Line growing at elevations below 150 metres. It is endangered in some areas due to deforestation, and it is invasive to a few tropical islands in the Western Hemisphere where it has been planted as an ornamental.
In Cambodia, the black, very hard wood is used for pickets in dams, the manufacture of boards and as ribs in umbrellas. The green fruit may replace Areca nut in the betel quid.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Oncosperma tigillarium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
