Firefly mangrove, mangrove apple
Sonneratia caseolaris

Family: Lythraceae

What it is like

Sonneratia caseolaris or known as Firefly Mangrove, Red-flowered Pornupan Mangrove, or Mangrove Apple is an evergreen, tropical, medium-sized tree with columnar crown growing about 6-20 m tall and 30 cm in trunk diameter, commonly in East Asia. It has pencil-like pneumatophores, or aerial roots. The trunk is swollen at the base when young. The leaves are thick but narrow, opposite, and leathery. The flowers occur singly, with red, narrow petals, and green sepals. The fruits are round and hard containing many seeds. The fruits, known source of pectin, are cooked, or used for vinegar or beverages. Young fruits are used as flavoring. Young leaves can be consumed raw. The plant is a folk remedy for sprains, swellings, and worms. It is also used against coughs, hematuria, smallpox, and cuts and bruises. The plant is planted in coastal swamp areas to control soil erosion. The bark is a tannin source. Vertical roots are used as floats for fish nets and in the manufacture of inner soles for shoes. The wood is used for piles, posts, poles, railway t

Sonneratia caseolaris is an evergreen Tree growing to 15 m (49ft) by 15 m (49ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Moths, bats, birds. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 15

Where it is found

Coastal mangrove communities, tidal creeks, in muddy soil. Less salt parts of mangrove-forests on a deeply muddy soil, never on coral-banks, often along tidal creeks with slow-moving water and ascending these as far as the flood mounts.

E. Asia - S. China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, northern Australia, Pacific Islands.

Conservation Status: Status: Least Concern

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia; Bangladesh; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia; Malaysia; Maldives; Myanmar; New Caledonia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Vanuatu; Viet Nam, Africa, Asia, Burma, Indochina, Pacific, Pakistan, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Young berries - raw or cooked. They can be eaten as a fruit, or cooked as a vegetable. A sour flavour. A cheese-like flavour. The fruits are a source of pectin. Young leaves - raw.

Pectin: a substance that is used to thicken jams etc and as a culture medium in laboratories.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The plant is said to be haemostatic. It is a folk remedy for sprains, swellings, and worms. The old fruit walls are used as a treatment for worms. Half-ripe fruits are a treatment for coughs. The fruits are used to make poultices. The pounded leaves are used as a treatment for haematuria and smallpox. The leaves are crushed, mixed with salt and applied as a poultice onto cuts and bruises.

Antitussive: Prevents or relieves coughing.

Haemostatic: Controls internal bleeding.

Parasiticide: Treats external parasites such as ringworm This should perhaps be joined with Parasiticide in

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Other

Rating: 4

Agroforestry Uses: A very important tree in the coastal swamp community, helping to protect the soil from erosion and providing an important habitat for wildlife. A fast-growing, pioneering species that colonizes newly formed mudflats and can expand rapidly in number, especially in optimum conditions of low salinity. Other Uses The pneumatophores (vertical roots rising above ground) are used as floats for fish nets and, being corky in texture, are employed in the manufacture of inner soles for shoes and can be used as a substitute for cork or pith. The roots are boiled before being used. The bark is a source of tannins. The heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate, the sapwood light greyish brown and 3 - 8cm thick. When wet or under varnish, the heartwood of old mature trees looks almost black. The grain is straight or very slightly crossed; the texture fine, very homogeneous, smooth, but not glossy; it has a distinct salty taste and a fishy or swampy odour, especially when fresh. The wood is moderately hard and moderately heavy to heavy. It is easy to work; lasts well in the ground and even the sapwood is rarely attacked by insects; the heartwood is said to resist teredos very well. The wood contains a small amount of salt, making the use of copper nails and screws necessary. It is used for piles, posts, poles, railway ties, paving blocks; ship, bridge, and wharf building; general strong construction; doors; siding, sheathing, ceiling, flooring, and all kinds of interior finish; ship planking and decking; furniture and cabinetwork; and musical instruments. The wood is used for fuel, but only when better woods are not available.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Parasiticide: Kills external body parasites such as hair lice.

Pectin: A substance that is used to thicken jams etc and as a culture medium in laboratories.

Pioneer: Plants, usually trees and shrubs, that can be used to reforest land.

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Attracts Wildlife: Plants noted for attracting wildlife

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

A plant of coastal areas in the tropics. It grows best where the mean annual minimum and maximum temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, though it tolerates 10 - 38°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 1,500 - 2,500mm, tolerating 1,000 - 3,000mm, and succeeds in areas with no dry season as well as those with a dry season. Prefers a sunny position. Prefers a heavy soil, but tolerates most soil types. Grows in areas that are inundated by salt water at high tides. Prefers a pH in the range 6.7 - 7.3, but tolerates 6.5 - 7.5. Plants are tolerant of strong, salt-laden winds. The flowers are nocturnal, opening in the evening and closing in the early morning.

Propagating it: Seed - it has a low viability of less than three months.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Red-flowered Pornupan mangrove, Ampie-lpu, Archa, Archaka, Ban chua, Bedat, Bedata, Berembang, Berombong, Betah, Bidada, Blatti, Bogem, Chipi, Gedaba, Jedaba, Kandale, Kapidada, Kinnari, Kirala, Lam pu, Lampoo, Ora, Orcha, Pat, Pedada, Perepat, Sundarignua, Thirala, Tiwar, apple mangrove|kirilla / kirala.

Synonyms

Blatti acida (L. f.) Lam. Rhizophora caseolaris L. Sonneratia acida L. f. Sonneratia evenia Blume So