Palm sugar sap ('toddy') from the flowers. The date palm has two species, "Phoenix dactylifera" and "P. sylvestris", and both are sources of palm sugar. "P. dactylifera" is common in the Mediterranean and Middle East. "P. sylvestris" is native to Asia, mainly Pakistan and India. Date palms are cultivated mainly for dates. Palm sugar is made from the tree's sap. The nipa palm ("Nypa fruticans") is native to the coastlines and tropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm tree that grows in a watery mangrove biome. Only its leaves and flowers grow above water. Palm sugar
Niebla dactylifera species that further differs by a more regularly branched thallus, one that is also broader at the base than above the base. Black dot-like pycnidia are infrequent and inconspicuous at tips of the ultimate branches. The key lichen substances is sekikaic acid, with accessory triterpenes. Pigmentation is weak near base of thallus, the cortex appearing brownish with blackish areas. "Niebla dactylifera" was recognized as a result of undertaking a taxonomic revision of the genus in regard towards development of a lichen flora of Baja California, beginning in 1986. A peer review of the manuscript in 1990 suggested that additional herbarium