''Avicennia rumphiana'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of tropical

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae () is a Family (biology), family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are Tropics, tropical Herbaceous plant, herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epip ...

. It is considered vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the 2008 assessment. ,

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considered it to be only a variety of ''

Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intert ...

'', ''Avicennia marina'' var. ''rumphiana''. In the

Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

it is known as api api bulu.

Description

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is one of the tallest mangroves sometimes growing to tall with a girth of but is usually much smaller than this. The trunk has buttresses and roots which spread shallowly across the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

and send up numerous

pneumatophore Aerial roots are roots growing above the ground. They are often adventitious, i.e. formed from nonroot tissue. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (''Orchidaceae''), tropical coastal swamp trees such ...

s. These are short vertical roots and are used for gas exchange. The bark is smooth and a dark shade of grey. The leaves are in opposite pairs, oval, sometimes spoon-shaped, glossy green above and yellowish-brown felted beneath. The individual flowers are over across and in a globular cluster, both

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and

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s being hairy. The fruit capsules are also felted and contain a single seed.Api-api bulu: ''Avicennia rumphiana''
Wild fact sheets. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
Mangrove and wetland wildlife at Sungei Buloh Nature Park. Retrieved 2012-02-08.

Distribution and habitat

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to south east Asia. Its range includes

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. It grows on the upper half of the foreshore preferring sandy or firm mud substrates.

Status

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is a fast-growing species and one of the first to colonize new areas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species considers it is vulnerable because it has a patchy distribution, is uncommon in some areas and is in general decline. It grows in the upper part of the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

where it is most vulnerable to human activities and habitat destruction. In the event of rising sea levels, as is expected to happen due to

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

, mangrove zones will be displaced upwards on the beach.

Uses

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is one of a number of species of mangrove planted for coastal defence. The timber is used for building construction but makes poor firewood, only being used for smoking fish and other products. The flowers produce plenty of

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

which is collected by foraging bees to make honey. The seeds are eaten as a boiled vegetable.

Etymology

The generic name is in honour of the

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Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

(980–1037). The specific name is in honour of the German-born Dutch-speaking naturalist

Georg Eberhard Rumphius Georg Eberhard Rumphius (originally: Rumpf; baptized c. 1 November 1627 – 15 June 1702) was a German-born botanist employed by the Dutch East India Company in what is now eastern Indonesia, and is best known for his work ''Herbarium Amboinense ...

(Georg Eberhard Rumpf, 1627–1702) who studied the

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

of eastern

while working there for the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. (cited in )

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4828767 rumphiana Flora of the Central Indo-Pacific