nipe

[The name of the plant in the Molucca Islands.] Bot. A genus of Endogens, with some affinity to the palms, which they resemble in habit, but placed doubtfully in the order Pandanaceae, tribe Cyclanthee. Only known specics, Nipa fruticans. The trunk is creeping and furcated; the leaves feathery, often twenty feet long; the flowers in a spathe; the fruit in large, round bunches, the size of the human head, and consisting of one-seeded drupes. It grows in the river estuaries and tidal forests of the Sunder bunds, Chittagong, Burmah, and the And a man Islands. The fruit sometimes floats in the mouth IMG:content-0064.png:[blocks in formation] 2. Handcuffs or foot-shackles for prisoners. II. Technically: 1. Dentistry: The mechanical forceps used by dentists for operating on the plates. 2. Naut .: Strong seizings for binding the me en paddles of a steamboat. The inside of the large fruit is eatable when young, and a liquor used as a beverage is obtainable from the spathe.