Botanical Name: Sonneratia caseolaris
Family: Lythraceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Myrtales
Genus: Sonneratia
Species: S. caseolaris
Synonyms:
*Blatti acida (L. f.) Lam.
*Rhizophora caseolaris L.
*Sonneratia acida L. f.
*Sonneratia evenia Blume
*Sonneratia neglecta Blume
*Sonneratia obovata Blume
*Sonneratia ovalis Korth.
Common Names: Mangrove apple,Firefly mangrove
In Bengali it called Kaora fall.
Other 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.
The tree is also sometimes known as cork tree, because fishermen in some areas make fishing net floats by shaping the pneumatophores into small floats.
Habitat: Sonneratia caseolaris is native to India,Bangladesh,Srilanka,It also grows in , Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, northern Australia and Pacific Islands.
It grows in 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.
Description:
Sonneratia caseolaris is a mangrove type tree growing up to 20 m in height and with a trunk reaching a maximum diameter of 50 cm. 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. The flowers are pollinated by Moths, bats, birds and bees.The flowers are nocturnal, opening in the evening and closing in the early morning. It is noted for attracting wildlife.The fruits are round and hard containing many seeds.
Cultivation:
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[418 ]. 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.
Propagation:
Seed – it has a low viability of less than three months.
Edible Uses:
he leaves and the fruit are edible and appreciated as food in certain areas, such as Maldives. In Sri Lanka, where the fruit is known as kirala gedi in Sinhala, the pulp of the fruit is mixed with coconut milk extract and made into a milk shake. 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. Many tourist resorts situated in the South of Sri Lanka where the trees grow abundantly alongside rivers, offer fresh fruit drinks made from the fruit. In the Maldives the fruits are used as a refreshing drink and also eaten with scraped coconut & sugar.
Medicinal Uses:
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.
Other Uses:
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.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonneratia_caseolaris
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sonneratia+caseolaris
