Putat

''Barringtonia asiatica'', known variously as fish poison tree, putat and beach Barrintonia among other names, is a species of plants in the brazil nut family Lecythidaceae. It is native to coastal habitats from Tanzania and Madagascar in the west to tropical Asia, northern Australia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was described by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz in 1875 and has a conservation status of least concern. It has been used by a number of traditional cultures as a fish poison.

Description

This is a tree which will usually grow to a height of about , occasionally to , and a trunk diameter of up to diameter. The trunk is irregularly shaped and often leaning, the bark is dark and coarse. The leaves are , or pear-shaped, being widest at the tip and narrowest at the base. They are glossy green and somewhat waxy, and may reach up to about long and wide. The margin is without lobes and the petiole (leaf stalk) is very short or absent.

Flowers are produced in erect racemes at the ends of the branches, each carrying up to 20 flowers. The calyx is completely fused while the bud forms, and splits into 2 uneven parts when the flower opens. It remains attached even after the fruit has matured. The flowers are large, showy and fragrant, with numerous long stamens which are white at the base and pink/purple at the tip. There are four white petals and the entire flower is about in diameter.

The fruit is large and somewhat pyramid-shaped. In cross section it is more or less square; in longitudinal section it is roughly (heart-shaped) or triangular, with the broadest part at the base attached to the petiole. They measure about long and wide, and they contain one or (rarely) two seeds.

Taxonomy

This species was first described in 1753 as ''Mammea asiatica'' by Carl Linnaeus, based on material collected from Java by Pehr Osbeck, a Swedish naturalist and one of Linnaeus' apostles. It was transferred to the genus ''Barringtonia'' (which at the time was variously placed in either Myrtaceae, Lecythidaceae or Barringtoniaceae) by the German botanist Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz in 1875. A number of other botanists have collected specimens of this plant and described them under different names, all of which are now recognised as synonyms (see synonyms list).

Etymology

The genus name was created to honour the English lawyer, antiquary and naturalist, Daines Barrington, while the species epithet ''asiatica'' refers to the region where this species is found.

Vernacular names

Due to its wide distribution, this species is known by many different names in different regions. In Australia it is called beach Barringtonia, mango pine, mango bark and box fruit. In Malaya and Singapore it is called ''Putat laut''; in Indonesia and Borneo it is known as ''Butun'', ''Butun alas'' and other variations; in the Andaman Islands it is referred to as ''Kyee-bin''; it is called ''bonnet d'évêque'' (bishop's hat) in New Caledonia; in the Cook Islands it is ''‘Utu'', and may be called ''hutu'', ''wutu'' or ''futu'' in other Polynesian cultures.

Distribution and habitat

''Barringtonia asiatica'' is native to tropical coastlines from Tanzania and Madagascar to India, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji and many other islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and it has been introduced to the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago and the Windward Islands. It inhabits beaches and coastal forests at altitudes up to .

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has given this species a conservation rating of least concern globally, however in Singapore it is locally classified as critically endangered.

Ecology

The night-opening flowers of this tree are pollinated by bats and moths. The fruit have a thick spongy layer around the seed, making them very buoyant and allowing them to be dispersed by ocean currents. In testing it has been shown that they can remain afloat for up to fifteen years, although in the ocean most will only survive for up to two years. They have been found on beaches as far away as Ireland and the Netherlands, and it was one of the first plants to colonise the island of Anak Krakatau after the massive eruption in 1883.

Toxicity

The plant is highly toxic to humans.

Uses

Many traditional cultures have used the bark and seeds as a fish poison – they are crushed or pounded to release the saponins contained within, and then placed in slow moving freshwater streams or coral lagoons. The fish are quickly killed or stunned, but the mechanism is not fully understood.

The fruit have been used as floats for fishing nets. The timber is not very hardy and thus has limited use.

The bark, leaves and fruit have been used for medical complaints such as headaches, backaches, sores, and bad dreams.

Cultivation

This tree has ornamental flowers and foliage and provides good shade, and it has been widely planted in tropical parks and gardens. In the city of Cairns, Australia, close to 100 have planted in the streets and parks.

Gallery

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q311468

asiatica
Flora of tropical Asia
Flora of the Pacific
Flora of the Western Indian Ocean
Trees of Taiwan
Flora of the Zanzibar Archipelago
Flora of Queensland
Ericales of Australia
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Flora of the Northern Territory
Taxa named by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz