Botanical name: Ceriops tagal    Family: Rhizophoraceae (Burma Mangrove family)

Tagal Mangrove is a small tree growing to 5–15 m in height, with many "buttresses" at the base. The bark is dark red. The leaves are obovate to elliptical, 5–10 cm long, 2–6 cm wide, rounded and notched at tip, acute at base, entire, thick, leathery, glabrous, without visible veins. The flowers are about 6 mm in length and are borne on short stalks. The sepals are linear, with pointed tips. The petals are five, and smooth; tips are flat or notched, with three or four club-shaped appendages. The stamens are ten. The fruit is small, club-shaped or subovoid, and surrounded near the base by the reflexed sepals.
Medicinal uses: The whole of the plant is believed to be rich in an astringent principle. A decoction of the bark is used to stop hemorrhages, and is applied to malignant ulcers. On the African Coast, a decoction of the shoots is used as a substitute for quinine. Malays give a decoction of the bark to women in childbirth. The bark is used in India as a haemostatic.

Your name:
Your email:
Your comments
The flower labeled Tagal Mangrove is ...