''Bruguiera gymnorhiza'', the large-leafed orange mangrove or oriental mangrove,) is a

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 ...

tree that grows usually to high, but sometimes up to 35m, that belongs to the family

Rhizophoraceae The Rhizophoraceae is a family of tropical or subtropical flowering plants. It includes around 147 species distributed in 15 genera.Setoguchi, H., Kosuge, K., & Tobe, H. (1999). Molecular Phylogeny of Rhizophoraceae Based on rbcL Gene Sequences. ...

. It is found on the seaward side of mangrove swamps, often in the company of ''

Rhizophora ''Rhizophora'' is a genus of tropical mangrove trees, sometimes collectively called true mangroves. The most notable species is the red mangrove ('' Rhizophora mangle'') but some other species and a few natural hybrids are known. ''Rhizophora'' ...

''. It grows from the Western

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

across

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

coasts to

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Description

A tree that can grow up to 35m, though usually smaller, around 7-20m, it has a glabrous, smoothish trunk with reddish-brown bark that is sometimes fibrous, sometimes lightish brown or grey. The tree develops short prop-roots rather than long stilt-roots. The green elliptic leaves are 5–15 cm long. Flowers are solitary, with white or cream petals, that soon turn brown up to 1.5 cm long, pinkish-green to reddish brown calyx. The fruit are turbinate (spinning-top shaped), 2 cm long, when mature, the spindle-shaped fruits drop and become embedded in the mud in an upright position, where they rapidly develop roots. The seeds, when still on tree, have a hypocotyl up to 11 cm long.

Distribution

The tree is found as a native on the coasts of places bordering the

, the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

, and parts of the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Regions that it is native to include:

Caroline Island Caroline Island (also known as Caroline Atoll or Millennium Island) is the easternmost of several uninhabited coral atolls comprising the southern Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean nation of Kiribati. The atoll was first sighted by Eu ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island territorial collectivity, collectivity in the Oceania, South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga t ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

, Nansei-shoto,

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

, Jawa,

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

Southeast China The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelago, archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of t ...

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(including

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Aldabra Aldabra, the world's second-largest coral atoll (the largest is Kiritimati), is located east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands (Seychelles), Outer Islands ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Mozambique Channel Islands The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean ( or ') consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, as well as a reef in the Indian Ocean; they constitute the fifth district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, though sovereignty over some ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

Cape Provinces The Cape Provinces of South Africa is a biogeographical area used in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It is part of the WGSRPD region 27 Southern Africa. The area has the code "CPP". It includes the Sou ...

. It has become extinct in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and is naturalized in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Habitat

The tree grows on intertidal mud-flats and estuaries, 0-2m (the elevation range between mean sea level and highest tide), on the less exposed parts of the coast, with a rainfall of 1000-8000mm. Common associates on Pacific Island include other mangrove species. The species grows on a wide range of soils, but does best in river estuaries, Salt water habitats on an alluvial sediment allows the tree to spread with its adventitious roots. The black mangrove is a protected tree in South Africa.

Names

As well as its botanical name, the tree is known by many common, or vernacular names. These include: ;

''jon'';

Kosrae Kosrae ( ), formerly known as Kusaie or Strong's Island, is an island in the Caroline Islands archipelago, and States of Micronesia, state within the Federated States of Micronesia. It includes the main island of Kosrae, traditionally known as Ual ...

Pohnpei Pohnpei (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, from Pohnpeian: "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')") is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnpei State, one of the fou ...

''sohmw''; Chuuk ''ong'';

Yap Yap (, sometimes written as , or ) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federate ...

''yangach'';

northern Australia The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26th parallel south, 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Q ...

''orange mangrove''; Wanigela, Northern (Oro) Province,

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 ...

''kavela'', ''mangrove bean''.; Thyanhngayth dialect,

Awngthim language Awngthim is an Language death, extinct Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken in Cape York Peninsula, Cape York in Queensland, Australia by the Winduwinda, Winduwinda people. The Awngthim language region ...

'; Sapek people, Supiori,

Papua Province Papua is a province of Indonesia, comprising the northern coast of Western New Guinea together with island groups in Cenderawasih Bay to the west. It roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Tabi Saireri, and is divided in ...

, Indonesia ''arouw'' Batjamal ''benmerr'';

Emi EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

''denges''; ; ; zh, 木榄;

Yue Chinese Yue () is a branch of the Sinitic languages primarily spoken in Northern and southern China, Southern China, particularly in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang). The term Cantonese is often used to refer ...

木欖; Khmer ''prâsak' nhi'', ''prâsak' toch'', ''prâsak' tük''; ; ;

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

(Andhra Pradesh) ', '; ;

''bodu kaṇḍū'', ''boda vaki''.;

Xavier Romero-Frias Xavier or Xabier may refer to: Place * Xavier, Spain People * Xavier (surname) * Xavier (given name) * Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint ** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation) * St. Xavier (disambiguation) * Xavier (footballer, born ...

, ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom'', Barcelona 1999, .

Kiswahili Swahili, also known as as it is referred to in the Swahili language, is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent littoral i ...

(Kenya, Tanzania, including Zanzibar, Mozambique) ', '; ; ; ;

South African English South African English (SAfE, SAfEn, SAE, en-ZA) is the List of dialects of English, set of English language dialects native to South Africans. History British Empire, British settlers first arrived in the South African region in 1795, ...

''black mangrove''; English ''large-leafed mangrove'', ''oriental mangrove''; ;

Uses

A major use of the tree is for wood products. Its uses in agroforestry include a woodlot, mulch/organic matter production, soil stabilization, coastal protection, windbreak, wildlife/marine food and habitat and bee forage. The wood is widely used, including for firewood, building construction (including structural components such as poles, beams and rafters), canoe parts, fishingstakes, spears, copra-huskers, chips for pulp production, tool handles and digging sticks. In the Andaman Islands the trunks have been used for telephone and transmission poles, it seems rot-resistant (''i.e.'' durable in direct contact with the ground). The wood has a high calorific values, and is used as fuel on some Pacific Islands (e.g. Kosrae), and for charcoal production in Indonesia, and Cambodia. In the Marshall Islands, it has been used for keel-pieces (''maal''), outrigger (''kie''), and outrigger struts (''kein-eon erre''). Paddles are also made from the wood on some islands. The fruit (propagule/hypocotyl) is reported as being eaten after scraping/grating, washing, drying and cooking to remove

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

s, and sometimes mixed with coconut in Melanesia and Nauru. The fruit is sold as a vegetable at

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...

Market, Solomon Islands. For the Sowek people, living on

Supiori Island Supiori is an island of the Schouten Islands archipelago in Cenderawasih Bay, just west of Biak island in Papua Province, Western New Guinea, northeastern Indonesia. Description The island has a rugged terrain, largely covered in tropical rain ...

, Indonesia, the fruit is a staple, or primary food, of their diet, due to its high carbohydrate content. The bark is used as an abortifacient and for treating burns in the Solomon Islands. The bark is reported to be used for diarrhoea and fever in Indonesia. The astringent (and mildly toxic) bark has also been used to treat malaria in Cambodia. The fruits has antiviral properties, and bark extracts of the closely related ''

Bruguiera sexangula ''Bruguiera sexangula'', commonly called the upriver orange mangrove, is a mangrove shrub or tree usually growing up to 15 m, occasionally 30 m, in height. Description ''Bruguiera sexangula'' may grow as a single-stemmed tree or multi- ...

'' are reportedly active against at least two types of cancerous tumors (Sarcoma 180 and Lewis lung carcinoma). The bark is used for dying, with colours ranging from red-brown to black (requires repeated dying). For working with leather, the bark has a high tannin content, but tends to colour excessively unless collected "at the end of each growing season". The green propagules/hypocotyl are also eaten by many indigenous groups in northern Australia. For example, on northwestern

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

, in the

Weipa Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is one of the largest towns on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is main ...

region, Thaynakwithi people (also referred to as Thyanhngayth dialect,

people) call the species ' and explain that the propagules could be baked, then mashed or pounded and the flesh placed into a sieve-like woven bag before being soaked in water Amongst the people of Wanigela, Northern (Oro) Province, in southeastern Papua New Guinea, the cooked hypocotyls are eaten, providing one of their staples, and used in the ethnomedicine as antimicrobial and insecticidal. The Batjamal and Emi speaker of the

Wadjiginy language Wadjiginy, also known as Wagaydy (Wogait) and Batjamalh, is an Australian Aboriginal language. Apart from being closely related to Kandjerramalh, it is not known to be related to any other language, though it has borrowed grammatical and lexic ...

, who live near Anson Bay in the Northern Territory, Australia, use the durable and hard wood to make spear tips (' atjama ' mi with a ''

Bambusa arnhemica ''Bambusa arnhemica'' is one of three bamboo species native to Australia. It grows in the northwestern areas of the Northern Territory, and is common on riverbanks in Kakadu. Stems turn orange yellow as they harden. Upper stems and branches ar ...

'' shaft. The reddish fine-textured wood used for local building in Cambodia, such constructions as huts, wharfs, fences, and fishery structures. Charcoal from the wood is excellent. The bark is used to dye fishing nets, and to tan animal skins. A decoction of the bark is taken in to combat diarrhoea. There is evidence of the hypocotyls being eaten in India, Bangladesh, and other parts of Southeast Asia. In the

the propagules or green pods are eaten as a cooked vegetable. They are peeled first and then boiled, the water being discarded and renewed at least four times. The propagules of this species are more appreciated than those of ''

Bruguiera cylindrica ''Bruguiera cylindrica'' is a small tree in the mangrove family Rhizophoraceae, native to tropical Asia and Australia. It was first described in 1827 and has the conservation status of least concern. Description ''Bruguiera cylindrica'' is a sm ...

''.

Notes

References