Rhizophora mucronata Lam.

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. Family

Rhizophoraceae

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. English name

Asiatic Mangrove

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. Local Name

Kamo, Kunro, Bhora, Timmar

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. Description

A small to large evergreen tree 25 m tall with a diameter of 70 cm. The crown is spreading and supported by stilted roots. The leaves are simple, elliptical to oblong 8 to 15 cm long and 5 to 10 cm wide. The leaf tips are sharply pointed while the bases are short pointed with wavy (entire) margins. The thick, leathery leaves are dark green and hairless on top and black dotted green underneath. The bark is brown or blackish, smooth or with horizontal fissures. There are 3 to 8 small flowers 15 mm long, to a cluster. They are bell shaped, yellow and fragrant. The flowers bloom between July and October. The fruit is berry, egg shaped 5 to 7 cm long and leathery. The seed matures from August through September. It has no known disease or pest problems of any importance. A slow growing tree. Heights of 8 to 10 m and diameters of 1 to 10 cm over a 15-year period have been reported. Because of over harvesting the tree appears be threatened with extinction in some areas and should be protected. Wood is orange red changing to reddish brown, Grains are very fine and straight with Specific gravity of 0.81.

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. Distribution

The tree has a very wide range from East and South Africa through South Asia to the islands of the South Pacific. In Pakistan It is found on mud flats and along salt-water creeks on the Lasbela and Makran and Karachi coasts. An intolerant tree that grows on silty, mud soils within the tidal zone. It does well on saline and brackish silts. It is adapted to a precipitation zone of 125 to 1700 mm/yr or more, in a temperature range of 1 to 40°C. It prefers a humid to arid, hot sub-tropical to tropical maritime climate. It is reproduced from viviparous seed. In nature the seed germinates on the tree and then falls to the ground. The tree is being extensively planted on hundreds of acres in the Lasbela belt of Karachi

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. Uses

Hard, heavy and strong used in fuel including charcoal, tannin, post and poles, medicinal (bark) and fodder