Aegiceras corniculatum at Muzhappilangad, Kannur 3

''Aegiceras corniculatum'', commonly known as black mangrove, river mangrove, goat's horn mangrove, or khalsi, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

mangrove in the primrose

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, Primulaceae, with a distribution in coastal and estuarine areas ranging from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

through South East Asia to southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Description

''Aegiceras corniculatum'' grows as a shrub or small tree up to high, though often considerably less. Its leaves are alternate, obovate, long and wide, entire, leathery and minutely dotted. Its fragrant, small, white

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s are produced as umbellate clusters of 10–30, with a peduncle up to 10 mm long and with

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long. The calyx is long and

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name *Corolla (headgear) A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown.moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s, including species from the genera ''

Anarsia ''Anarsia'' is a genus of moths in the family Gelechiidae. Species *'' Anarsia acaciae'' Walsingham, 1896 *'' Anarsia acerata'' Meyrick, 1913 *'' Anarsia acrotoma'' Meyrick, 1913 *'' Anarsia agricola'' Walsingham, 1891 *'' Anarsia albibasella ...

'', ''

Archips ''Archips'' is a genus of tortrix moths the tribe Archipini. Species include the oak leaf roller (''A. semiferanus''), which eats the leaves of oak trees. Species *'' Archips abiephage'' (Yasuda, 1975) *'' Archips alberta'' (McDunnough, 1923) ...

'' and ''

Phyllocnistis ''Phyllocnistis'' is a genus of moths in the family Gracillariidae. Description Adult Adults of the genus ''Phyllocnistis'' are very small moths with wingspans generally not exceeding 5 mm. Both fore- and hindwings are lanceolate and pred ...

'', as well as the species ''Darna trima'', ''

Gonodontis clelia ''Gonodontis clelia'' is a moth in the family Geometridae first described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is found in Sri Lanka, South India, Pakistan, Nepal, Hong Kong, the Andaman Islands, Singapore, Borneo and Australia. Description The ...

'' and ''

Neurozerra conferta ''Neurozerra conferta'' is a moth in the family Cossidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is found in Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh and on the Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an arc ...

''.

Medicinal uses

''Aegiceras corniculatum'' extract has

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

properties which supports a fight against

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

. The stems of the plant contain up to seven compounds, including: 2-methoxy-3-nonylresorcinol, 5-O-ethylembelin, 2-O-acetyl-5-O-methylembelin, 3,7-dihydroxy-2,5-diundecylnaphthoquinone, 2,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxy-3,6-diundecyldibenzofuran-1,4-dione, 2,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-3,9-diundecyldibenzofuran-1,4-dione (6), and 10-hydroxy-4-O-methyl-2,11-diundecylgomphilactone.

References

External links

* Primulaceae Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Mangroves Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa named by Francisco Manuel Blanco {{Primulaceae-stub