Bruguiera Gymnorrhiza (Bakau Besar)

CLICK BELOW FOR AUDIO GUIDE

Bruguiera gymnorhiza (black mangrove) is a small tree up to 10 metres (33 ft) high that belongs to the family Rhizophoraceae. It is found on the seaward side of mangrove swamps, often in the company of Rhizophora. Its bark is rough and reddish brown. The tree develops short prop-roots rather than long stilt-roots. Flowers are creamy white soon turning brown. The sepals are persistent, narrow and slightly tapered. When mature, the spindle-shaped fruits drop and become embedded in the mud in an upright position, where they rapidly develop roots. The black mangrove is a protected tree in South Africa.

Sketch of Bruguiera Gymnorrhiza (Bakau Besar)

One of the major problems for any plant growing in the highly saline conditions of a mangrove swamp is how to get rid of excess salt. Black mangroves achieve this by depositing the salt in old leaves, which are eventually killed by the concentrated “refuse” they contain. The leaves go yellow and fall, taking the excess salt with them, and so visitors to a mangrove swamp will see healthy trees dropping leaves at any and all times of year. Almost as soon as a leaf falls, one of the crabs ( Uca spp., and possibly others) in the swamp will quickly emerge, grab its prize and dash back to its hole, as these fallen leaves are a major item in the crabs’ diet.

In the Maldives this mangrove is known as kaṇḍū. 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.

Mangrove wood is well known for being waterproof, resistant to borers, tough and effectively indestructible. This makes it highly prized and adds enormously to human pressure on the swamps throughout its range. Thus it was sad but not surprising on a recent (November 2002) visit to the mangrove swamps on Xefina Pequena Island (Maputo, Mozambique) that the only Bruguiera we saw was the skeleton of the boat we hired to reach the swamps. All the live trees had been felled for timber; in addition to making boats, poles are used to make fish traps and the frames of huts. In Malaysia, the wood is chipped for the manufacture of pulp and rayon, and fragments of wood are made into charcoal in many places. The bark is high in tannins, and so has been used for tanning. It also yields a black dye.

Terminalia Catappa (Sea Almond)

CLICK BELOW FOR AUDIO GUIDE

Terminalia catappa, (Local name: ketapang) also known as sea almond, is a tall tree up to the range of 20 to 35 metres high (66 to 115 ft.). The tree often has buttress roots with grey, fissured and slightly flaky bark. It has a large spatula-shaped (15 to 30 cm long, 9-18 cm wide) thin leathery leaves, arranged in a spiral at the tip of the twig. Its young leaves are reddish.

Sketch of Terminalia Catappa (Sea Almond)

Terminalia Catappa has many tiny white flowers. Instead of having petals and fragrance like any commonly found flowers, it has star-shaped calyx emerge on long spikes (10-12 cm long) and is said to smell bad.

It bears almond-shaped fruits of approximately 4 to 8 cm long in clusters. The Sea Almond fruits are green ripening yellow. It has a thick, leathery, corky outer layer enclosing air cavities with a hard and thick stone in the center. Inside the stone is a sliver of edible kernel composed of tightly coiled seed-leaves of the embryo. In Kuala Selangor Nature Park, monkeys tend to be found near this tree as Sea Almond fruits are part of the monkeys’ diet as its nut kernel can be eaten raw.

Terminalia Catappa has been recognised for its medicinal uses and benefits. Numerous pharmacological investigations have confirmed this plant’s ability to exhibit antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant activities. Its leaves have an antibacterial effect due to the release of tannic and humic acid. For instance, it is commonly used by the aquarists in their aquariums to promote fish health and provide a calming effect. It can be applied to treat rheumatic joints too. Juice from young leaves is said to cure headaches and colic. Its bark is to treat dysentery. However, its unripe fruits contain tannin and terminalin, which are toxic to animals like cattle and sheep when eaten.

Terminalia Catappa can mainly be found in the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia. It grows well in subtropical and tropical climates. To date, this widely known ornamental tree in tropical regions is found to be near threatened.

Excoecaria Agallocha (Milky Mangrove)

CLICK BELOW FOR AUDIO GUIDE

Excoecaria agallocha, commonly known as milky mangrove or blind-your-eye mangrove is an evergreen, or briefly deciduous shrub or small tree growing from 10 to 30 metres tall. Roots run along the ground surface and often knotted and covered with lenticels. Leaves thick, oval and pointed (5-10cm long), arranged alternately in a spiral. Young leaves are pink, old leaves turn yellow then red before dropping off. Leaves usually drop off after dry weather. Flowers are very small, densely crowded on slender and flowering branches. Male flowers occur on spikes which grow singly in the axils of leaves, from 5 to 10 centimetres long. Female flowers are born on branches, 2 to 3 centimetres long. The fruits are small (less than 1cm) three-lobed, green turning black as they ripen into dry capsules. Each capsule is made up of three portions, containing tiny dark to black seeds.

Sketch of Excoecaria Agallocha (Bebuta/ Blind-your-eye)

Like other mangrove plants, Milky mangrove timber is also well-known to be used as a firewood. Nonetheless, the white milky latex from the leaf as shown in the picture is poisonous and can cause severe skin irritation and temporary blindness if contact is made with the eyes. Also, the sap is used for fish poison.

In traditional medicine, the latex, leaves, roots and bark of the milky mangrove also have their uses. The latex used in healing of obstinate ulcers. Smoke from burning wood used for leprosy. Decoction of leaves used for epilepsy; also applied to ulcers. Even dried and powdered leaves retain the poison and can kill fish very quickly or be used on a poison dart. Roots, less poisonous than above-ground parts, are pounded with ginger and used to make embrocation for swellings of the hands and feet.

Hibiscus Tiliaceus (Sea Hibiscus)

CLICK BELOW FOR AUDIO GUIDE

Hibiscus tiliaceus is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is native to the Old World tropics. Common names include sea hibiscus, baru or bebaru in Malay. It is commonly found growing on beaches, by rivers and in mangrove swamps. Sea Hibiscus is well adapted to grow in coastal environment in that it tolerates salt and waterlogging and can grow in quartz sand, coral sand, marl, limestone, and crushed basalt. It grows best in slightly acidic to alkaline soils (pH of 5–8.5).

Sketches of Hibiscus tiliaceus or Sea Hibiscus

The specific epithet, “tiliaceus” refers to its resemblance of the leaves to those of the related Tilia species. Hibiscus tiliaceus reaches a height of 4–10 m (13–33 ft), with a trunk up to 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter. The flowers of hibiscus tiliaceus are bright yellow with a deep red center upon opening. Over the course of the day, the flowers deepen to orange and finally red before they fall. The branches of the tree often curve over time. The leaves are heart shaped.

The wood of Hibiscus tiliaceus has been used in a variety of applications, such as sea craft construction, firewood, and wood carvings. It is easy to plane and turns well, so it is regarded by many as a high-quality furniture wood. Plant fibers taken from the stems have traditionally been used in rope making, while its bark has been used like cork, in sealing cracks in boats. The bark and roots may be boiled to make a cooling tea to cool fevers, and its young leafy shoots may be eaten as vegetables.

Hibiscus tiliaceus is widely used in Asian countries as a subject for the art of bonsai, especially Taiwan. The finest specimens are taken from Kenting National Park. Lending itself to free grafting, the leaf size is reduced fairly quickly. In Indonesia, Hibiscus tiliaceus is also used for fermenting tempeh.

Nypa Fruticans (Nipah)

CLICK BELOW FOR AUDIO GUIDE

Nypa fruticans, commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The nipa palm’s trunk grows beneath the ground and only the leaves and flower stalk grow upwards above the surface. Thus, it is an unusual palm tree, and the leaves can extend up to 9 m (30 ft) in height. The flowers are a globular inflorescence of female flowers at the tip with catkin-like red or yellow male flowers on the lower branches. The flower produces woody nuts arranged in a globular cluster up to 25 cm (10 in) across on a single stalk. The ripe nuts separate from the ball and are floated away on the tide, occasionally germinating while still water-borne.

Sketch of Nypa Fruticans (Nipah)

The long, feathery leaves of the nipa palm are used by local populations as roof material for thatched houses or dwellings. The leaves are also used in many types of basketry and thatching. Large stems are used to train swimmers in Burma as it has buoyancy.

In the Philippines and Malaysia, the flower cluster (inflorescence) can be “tapped” to yield a sweet, edible sap collected to produce a local alcoholic beverage called tuba, bahal, or tuak. A fruit cluster is ready to be tapped when the unripe fruits are at their peak sweetness. The cluster is cut from the stalk about six inches down and mud is rubbed on the stalk to induce sap flow, sap begins flowing immediately if the fruit maturity was correctly gauged.

The nipa palm produces a very high yield of sugar-rich sap. Fermented into ethanol or butanol, the sap may allow the production of 6,480–20,000 liters per hectare per year of fuel. By contrast sugarcane yields roughly 5200 liters of ethanol per hectare per year and an equivalent area planted in corn (maize) would produce only roughly 4000 liters per hectare per year, before accounting for the energy costs of the cultivation and alcohol extraction. Unlike corn and sugarcane, nipa palm sap requires little if any fossil fuel energy to produce from an established grove, does not require arable land, and can make use of brackish water instead of freshwater resources. Also unlike most energy crops the nipa palm does not detract from food production to make fuel. In fact since nipa fruit is an inevitable byproduct of sap production as a crop it produces both food and fuel simultaneously.