| Bruguiera cylindrica | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Rhizophoraceae |
| Genus: | Bruguiera |
| Species: | B. cylindrica |
| Binomial name | |
| Bruguiera cylindrica | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Bruguiera cylindrica is a mangrove in the family Rhizophoraceae. It grows in mangrove swamps in tropical Asia.
Bruguiera cylindrica is a small tree growing up to 20 metres (66 ft) tall but often grows as a bush. The bark is smooth and grey, with corky raised patches containing lenticels which are used in gas exchange and the trunk is buttressed by roots. The aerial roots or pneumatophores project from the soil in knee-shaped loops and have many lenticels which allow air into the interconnecting roots while excluding water. The roots spread out widely to provide stability in the waterlogged soil. The glossy green leaves are opposite, simple and elliptical with pointed ends. The flowers are in small bunches of 2–5 in the axils of the leaves. They have 8 long green sepals and 8 smaller, greenish-white petals with several little bristles on the tip. The flowers are pollinated by insects and release a cloud of pollen when probed at the base by the insect's mouthparts. The seed does not detach itself from the flower stalk but germinates where it is and is known as a propagule. It grows into a slightly curved cylinder up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, with the upturned calyx still attached, and looks rather like a slender, dangling cucumber. [3] [4] The propagules later drop off and float horizontally at first. The roots (lower part) absorb water and become heavier and after a few weeks the propagules float vertically and are ready to root into the substrate. [5]
Bruguiera cylindrica can be confused with Bruguiera gymnorhiza , but that has larger, red flowers and red sepals which remain attached to the propagule, which is a straight cylinder in shape rather than being slightly curved. [3]
Bruguiera cylindrica is found in tropical Asia, from India and Sri Lanka through Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and New Guinea [6] to Queensland, Australia. It is one of the commonest mangroves in Singapore. [3] Bruguiera cylindrica is found on new deposits of silt, often behind other mangroves such as Avicennia which are more salt tolerant. Unlike some other mangroves, it does not regenerate easily from broken off branches. [3]
Mangrove swamps are habitats with great biodiversity. There are a large number of marine invertebrates associated with mangolds including sponges, ascidians, molluscs, shrimps and crabs and also a number of fish and birds. Many terrestrial insects visit mangroves including herbivores, parasites and predators. Beside the generalist insects, each species of mangrove has its own associated leaf feeders and wood borers. [7] A large number of species of marine fungi are found growing in mangrove swamps where Bruguiera cylindrica is one of a number of species colonised. [8]
The timber of Bruguiera cylindrica is dense, reddish and strong and is used in construction. It is used for parts of the hull and, especially, for the keel of canoes in the Maldive Islands. [9] It burns well as firewood and can be converted into charcoal. The crushed bark has an unusual odour which is repulsive to fish and this wood is not therefore used for fish traps. [4] Nevertheless, extracts are made from the pneumatophores which are used in the manufacture of perfume. Parts of the tree are eaten; the root tips are relished in Thailand; the bark supplies a spice and the young shoots are boiled and served as a vegetable. [3] In Maldives the propagules are boiled and eaten as a vegetable in the islands where it grows. [10]
In traditional medicine, the skin of the fruit is used to stop bleeding and the leaves are used to lower blood pressure. [3]
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have special adaptations to take in extra oxygen and to remove salt, which allow them to tolerate conditions that would kill most plants. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several plant families. They occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics and even some temperate coastal areas, mainly between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the greatest mangrove area within 5° of the equator. Mangrove plant families first appeared during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene epochs, and became widely distributed in part due to the movement of tectonic plates. The oldest known fossils of mangrove palm date to 75 million years ago.
Aerial roots are roots above the ground. They are almost always adventitious. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (Orchidaceae), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs, the warm-temperate rainforest rata, and pohutukawa trees of New Zealand. Vines such as common ivy and poison ivy also have aerial roots.
Avicennia is a genus of flowering plants currently placed in the bear's breeches family, Acanthaceae. It contains mangrove trees, which occur in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas and are characterized by its "pencil roots", which are aerial roots. They are also commonly known as api api, which in the Malay language means "fires", a reference to the fact that fireflies often congregate on these trees. Species of Avicennia occur worldwide south of the Tropic of Cancer.
Rhizophora mangle, the red mangrove, is distributed in estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. These are dispersed by water until eventually embedding in the shallows.
Avicennia germinans, the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and on the Atlantic Coast of tropical Africa, where it thrives on the sandy and muddy shores where seawater reaches. It is common throughout coastal areas of Texas and Florida, and ranges as far north as southern Louisiana and coastal Georgia in the United States.
The Florida mangroves ecoregion, of the mangrove forest biome, comprise an ecosystem along the coasts of the Florida peninsula, and the Florida Keys. Four major species of mangrove populate the region: red mangrove, black mangrove, white mangrove, and the buttonwood. The mangroves live in the coastal zones in the more tropical southern parts of Florida; mangroves are particularly vulnerable to frosts. Mangroves are important habitat as both fish nursery and brackish water habitats for birds and other coastal species.
The tall-stilt mangrove belongs to the Plantae kingdom under the Rhizophoraceae family. R. apiculata is distributed throughout Australia, Guam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, the Maldives, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. Rhizophora apiculata is called ‘bakhaw lalaki,’ in the Philippines, "Thakafathi ތަކަފަތި" in the Maldives, 'Đước' in Vietnam, Garjan in India, as well as other vernacular names.
Bruguiera gymnorhiza, the large-leafed orange mangrove or oriental mangrove,) is a mangrove tree that grows usually to 7–20 metres (23–66 ft) high, but sometimes up to 35m, that belongs to the family Rhizophoraceae. It is found on the seaward side of mangrove swamps, often in the company of Rhizophora. It grows from the Western Pacific across Indian Ocean coasts to Cape Province, South Africa.
The New Guinea mangroves is a mangrove ecoregion that covers extensive areas of the coastline New Guinea, the large island in the western Pacific Ocean north of Australia.
Avicennia alba is a species of tropical mangrove in the family Acanthaceae. It is found growing in coastal and estuarine locations in India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and Oceania.
Bruguiera sexangula, commonly called the upriver orange mangrove, is a mangrove shrub or tree usually growing up to 15 m, occasionally 30 m, in height.
Heritiera fomes is a species of mangrove tree in the family Malvaceae. Its common names include sunder, sundri, jekanazo and pinlekanazo. It is the dominant mangrove tree species of the Sundarbans of Bangladesh and India, and comprises about 70% of the trees in the area. H. fomes is a major timber-producing tree. It is threatened by over-harvesting, water diversions in the Ganges Basin, fluctuations in salinity due to upstream and coastal development and top dying disease. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being "endangered".
Sonneratia caseolaris, commonly known as mangrove apple, is a species of plant in the family Lythraceae. The fruit is noted for its outward similarity to the persimmon fruit.
Avicennia rumphiana is a species of tropical mangrove in the family Acanthaceae. It is considered vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the 2008 assessment. As of March 2022, Plants of the World Online considered it to be only a variety of Avicennia marina, Avicennia marina var. rumphiana. In the Malay language it is known as api api bulu.
Rhizophora mucronata is a species of mangrove found on coasts and river banks in East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region.
Ceriops tagal, commonly known as spurred mangrove or Indian mangrove, is a mangrove tree species in the family Rhizophoraceae. It is a protected tree in South Africa. The specific epithet tagal is a plant name from the Tagalog language.
Lumnitzera racemosa, commonly known as the white-flowered black mangrove, is a species of mangrove in the family Combretaceae. It is found on the eastern coast of Africa and other places in the western Indo-Pacific region. It has one accepted variety from the noniminate species, Lumnitzera racemosa var. lutea (Gaudich.) Exell.
Ceriops australis, the yellow mangrove or smooth-fruited yellow mangrove, is a species of mangrove in the family Rhizophoraceae, native to tropical northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is a common species in the region and although mangroves are threatened by habitat destruction and climate change, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Rhizophora racemosa is a species of mangrove tree in the family Rhizophoraceae. It has a patchy distribution on the Pacific coast of Central and South America, occurs in places on the Atlantic coast of that continent, and has a more widespread range on the Atlantic coast of West Africa.
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