''Conocarpus erectus'', commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a mangrove

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 trees ...

in the family Combretaceae. This species grows on shorelines in tropical and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

regions around the world.

Range

Locations it is known from include Florida, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and South America from Mexico to Brazil on the Atlantic Coast and Mexico to Ecuador on the Pacific Coast, western Africa and in Melanesia and Polynesia. It was introduced in Kuwait because it can thrive in high temperatures and absorbs brackish water.

Description

''Conocarpus erectus'' is usually a dense multiple-trunked

, tall, but can grow into a tree up to or more tall, with a trunk up to in diameter. The United States National Champion green buttonwood is tall, has a spread of , and a circumference of . The bark is thick and has broad plates of thin scales which are gray to brown. The twigs are brittle, and angled or narrowly winged in cross-section. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are alternately arranged, simple and oblong, long (rarely to long) and broad, with a tapering tip and an entire margin. They are dark green and shiny on top, and paler with fine silky hairs underneath, and have two salt glands at the base of each leaf.US Forest Service
/ref> The fruits are button-like (from which the common names derive), diameter, with no petals; they are produced in stalked

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s of 35-56 flowers. The fruit is a cluster of red to brown, small scaly, two-winged cone-like seeds, long. The seed heads burst when ripe, and the seeds are dispersed by water. It is generally found growing in brackish water in tidal lagoons and bays, but can grow in inland habitats, with records at up to altitude in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Taxonomy

These two varieties are not accepted as distinct by all authorities: *''C. e.'' var. ''erectus'' - green buttonwood, leaves thinly hairy or hairless *''C. e.'' var. ''sericeus'' - silver buttonwood, leaves densely silvery-hairy

Uses

The tree is used as an ornamental plant and in

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

. The variety ''sericeus'', with silvery leaves, is especially prized for landscaping. It is an important host plant for

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

s. As a result of ornamental planting, it has become

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in Hawaii. It has been used extensively in landscaping in Kuwait and became the most abundant tree/shrub. Conocarpus is widely believed to be fodder for the African buffalo, and it is understood that this is the source of their acidic urine. The wood is sometimes used in cabinets; it is difficult to work but takes a smooth finish. It is also used as

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...

, and is reported to be good for

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

meat and fish, as it burns very hot and slowly; it also makes high quality

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

. The

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

is high in tannin, for which it has been harvested commercially.

Gallery

File:Miami Beach - Sand Dunes Flora - Silver Buttonwood.jpg, Silver buttonwood File:Miami Beach - Sand Dunes Flora - Silver Buttonwood Detail - Leaves and Fruit.jpg, Detail - leaves and fruit File:Miami Beach - Sand Dunes Flora - Silver Buttonwood and Palm.jpg, Silver buttonwood and palm File:Miami Beach - Sand Dunes Flora - Silver Buttonwood Trees and Buildings.jpg, Silver buttonwood and coconut palms

References

USDA Forest Service: ''Conocarpus erectus''
(pdf file)

- retrieved July 1, 2006

- retrieved July 1, 2006

- retrieved July 1, 2006 * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130509192725/http://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Conoerec Natives for your neighborhood - Buttonwood- retrieved July 1, 2006
Mangroves-Florida's Coastal Trees
- retrieved July 4, 2006

External links

* {{Authority control erectus Mangroves Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of Mexico Flora of South America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Pantropical flora