Small-fruited Orange mangrove
Bruguiera cylindrica

Family: Rhizophoraceae

What it is like

A tree up to 23 m high. The trunk is 30 cm across. It is much smaller and like a shrub when in poor soil. It has stilt roots and aerial roots. The bark is grey to dark brown and cracked along and across its length. The leaves are oval but tapering towards both ends. They are 5-17 cm long and 2-8 cm wide. The leaves are thick. They are dark green on top and lighter green below. The midrib is sunken on the top of the leaf and raised below. The leaf stalk is 1-3 cm long. The flowers are cream coloured and borne as 3 flowered clusters on equal length stalks. Flowers are 3 cm long. The flower stalk is 1-4 mm long. There are 8 white petals with lobes. The fruit and hypocotyl are green. The hypocotyl or stem below the seed leaves is 4-15 cm long and 5 mm wide and may be curved. The outer part of the flower is fringed with white hairs. The hypocotyl is green when young and brownish when old. The seed germinates before the fruit falls from the tree.

There are 6 Bruguiera species. They grow in tropical mangrove swamps.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows on stiff clay soils and is replaced by other mangrove species on better drained soils. It grows in areas only occasionally flooded by very high tides. They grow to 20 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Andamans & Nicobar, Asia, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The young shoot is edible. The radical from the seed is eaten after boiling.

It is not known if it is used for food in Papua New Guinea.

Edible parts

Seeds, shoot, root, bark - spice

How it is grown

The seed can be planted directly from the tree.

Its other names

Local names

Bakau berus, Berus kechil, Berus, Bodavaki, Byu, Kakandan, Kandoo, Madam, Pasak kao, Prui, Pyu, Saung, Tajang sukun, Tanjang, Ton lui, Tua deng, Tua kao, Vet tru

Synonyms

Bruguiera caryphylloides Blume; Bruguiera malabarica Arn.; and others