| Avicennia alba | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Acanthaceae |
| Genus: | Avicennia |
| Species: | A. alba |
| Binomial name | |
| Avicennia alba | |
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.
A. alba forms a low, dense bushy crown often branching near the base of the trunk. The shrub does not grow more than about 20 m (66 ft) high. The roots are shallow and send up a large number of pencil-shaped pneumatophores. These aerial roots help with gas exchange and also play an important part in the exclusion of salt from the plant's vascular system. [3] The trunk has smooth, greenish-black bark that is finely fissured and does not flake. The dark green leaves, 15 cm (6 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) wide, have a silvery grey underside and grow in opposite pairs. The small, orange-yellow flowers, borne in a racemose inflorescence, have four petals and a diameter of about 4 mm (0.16 in) when expanded. The fruits are greyish-green capsules and conical in shape with an elongated beak up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. Each contains a single seed. [4]
In the Malay language it is known as api api putih, api meaning "fire", referring to the fact that this mangrove attracts fireflies, and putih meaning "white", referring to the pale-coloured underside of the leaves. [3]
A. alba is found off South and Southeast Asia, the islands of the South Pacific Ocean, and Australia. [2] It is common in the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore. It grows on tidal regions of riverbanks and on muddy portions of the seashore. [4] It is a pioneering species, being one of the first to colonise new ground. Its widespread root system with large numbers of pneumatophores helps to stabilise new deposits of sediment. [3]
Because it is difficult for seedlings to become established in tide-swept muddy habitats, A. alba exhibits cryptovivipary. The embryos start to develop and break through the coat of the seeds before the fruits split open to shed the seeds. In some cases, the plant also exhibits vivipary, with the developing shoot breaking through the fruit capsule while it is still growing on the bush. [3] The seedlings have hooked hairs and are often seen growing in tangled groups. [5]
A number of invertebrates are associated with A. alba. The larvae of certain small moths, Euopoicillia spp., feed on the flower buds and those of another moth, Autoba alabastrata , feed on the fruits. The leaves are eaten by beetles, Monolepta spp. [4] The greatest number of known species of marine fungi are found growing in mangrove swamps where A. alba is one of a number of species colonised. [6] [7]
Mangrove habitats in general are threatened by human activities such as coastal development, agriculture, and the creation of fish ponds. Rising sea levels due to global warming will also affect mangroves communities. [8] A. alba is affected by these threats, but the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists it as being of least concern because it is a fast-growing species, recovers readily from being cut, is widely distributed, and is common over much of its range. [1]
A. alba is a fast-growing species and is sometimes planted, along with Sonneratia and Rhizophora , to help prevent coastal erosion. [4]
The timber from A. alba does not make good firewood or charcoal, but is used in the smoking of rubber and of fish. An extract of the heartwood is used in herbal medicine to make a tonic, and the resin has been used in birth control. The seeds are boiled and eaten as a vegetable and are sometimes available in local markets. [4]
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.
Quercus velutina, the black oak, is a species of oak in the red oak group, native and widespread in eastern and central North America. It is sometimes called the eastern black oak.
Ziziphus mauritiana, also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Chinese jujube, but whereas Z. jujuba prefers temperate climates, Z. mauritiana is tropical to subtropical.
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.
Avicennia marina, commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae. As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas.
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 northern Florida in the United States.
Laguncularia is a genus of plants in the family Combretaceae. The only species in the genus is Laguncularia racemosa, the white mangrove.
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.
Heritiera littoralis, commonly known as the looking-glass mangrove or tulip mangrove, is a mangrove tree in the family Malvaceae native to coastal areas of eastern Africa, Asia, Melanesia and northern Australia. The common name refers to the silvery appearance of the underside of the leaves, resembling a mirror to some degree. The strong timber has uses in marine applications and elsewhere.
Barringtonia asiatica is a species of Barringtonia native to mangrove habitats from islands of the Indian Ocean in the west to tropical Asia and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is grown along streets for decorative and shade purposes in some parts of India, for instance in some towns on the southeastern shore. It is also known as Box Fruit due to the distinct box-shaped fruit it produces. The local name futu is the source of the name for the Polynesian island Futuna. The type specimen was collected by botanist Pehr Osbeck on a sandy beach area on the island of Java, later to be described by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum in 1753.
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.
Thalassia testudinum, commonly known as turtlegrass, is a species of marine seagrass. It forms meadows in shallow sandy or muddy locations in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle grass and other seagrasses form meadows which are important habitats and feeding grounds. The grass is eaten by turtles and herbivorous fish, supports many epiphytes, and provides habitat for juvenile fish and many invertebrate taxa.
Nypa fruticans, commonly known as the nipa palm or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adapted to the mangrove biome. The genus Nypa and the subfamily Nypoideae are monotypic taxa because this species is their only member.
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".
Bruguiera cylindrica is a mangrove in the family Rhizophoraceae. It grows in mangrove swamps in tropical Asia.
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.
Zostera noltii is a species of seagrass known by the common name dwarf eelgrass. It is found in shallow coastal waters in north western Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Aral Sea and on islands in the Atlantic off the coast of northwest Africa. It is an important part of the intertidal and shallow subtidal ecosystems of estuaries, bays and lagoons.
Pseudohelice annamalai is a species of crab in the family Varunidae, which is reported from the Indian Ocean at the mangroves of Parangipettai near the Vellar River estuary in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu.
