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Lecythidaceae
Barringtonia asiatica (L.) Kurz
EOL Text
Sandy seashores. S Taiwan (including Lan Yu) [Japan, Philippines; Old World tropics].
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Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014675 |
Case protects during years at sea: Polynesian box fruit
The seeds of the Polynesian box fruit are protected from damage as they drift on ocean currents via a tough seed case.
"Protection from air and water: Seed cases are champions of air- and water-tight storage. Among the record-holders: a lotus that germinated after 1288 years, a Polynesian box fruit that germinated after two years at sea, and the Mary's Bean, a liana seed which stayed afloat from the Marshall Islands to the beaches of Norway, more than 15,000 miles!" (Biomimicry Guild unpublished report)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
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Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/fad6883850bd91d7707d307675c896e7 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 5
Specimens with Barcodes: 7
Species With Barcodes: 1
Red List Criteria
Year Assessed
- Needs updating
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
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Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/31339 |
Barringtonia asiatica (Fish Poison Tree,[4][5] Putat[4] or Sea Poison Tree[4]) is a species of Barringtonia native to mangrove habitats on the tropical coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean from Zanzibar east to Taiwan, the Philippines, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, the Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia.[4][5] It is grown along streets for decorative and shade purposes in some parts of India, for instance in some towns on southeastern shore. It is also known as Box Fruit due the distinct box-shaped fruit it produces.[6] The local name futu is the source of the name for the Polynesian island Futuna.[7] The type specimen was collected by botanist Pehr Osbeck on a sandy beach area on the island of Java, later to be described (and given the original name of Mammea asiatica) by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum in 1753.[3]
It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 7–25 m tall. The leaves are narrow obovate, 20–40 cm in length and 10–20 cm in width. Fruit produced as mentioned earlier, is otherwise aptly known as the Box Fruit, due to distinct square like diagonals jutting out from the cross section of the fruit, given its semi spherical shape form from stem altering to a subpyramidal shape at its base. The fruit measures 9–11 cm in diameter, where a thick spongy fibrous layer covers the 4–5 cm diameter seed.[4][8]
The fruit is dispersed in the same way as a coconut – by ocean current – and is extremely water-resistant and buoyant.[9] It can survive afloat for up to fifteen years;[6] it was one of the first plants to colonise Anak Krakatau when this island first appeared after the Krakatau eruption.[4] When washed ashore, and soaked by rainwater, the seeds germinate.
All parts of the tree are poisonous, the active poisons including saponins. Box fruits are potent enough to be used as a fish poison. The seeds have been used ground to a powder to stun or kill fish for easy capture,[4] suffocating the fish where the flesh is unaffected.[10]
Barringtonia asiatica is a common plant in the Malaysian Mangroves and wetlands such as the Kuching wetlands and Bako National Park. Barringtonia asiatica is known locally as Putat laut or Butun.
Its large pinkish-white, pom pom flowers give off a sickly sweet smell to attract bats and moths which pollinate the flowers at night.
References[edit]
- ^ Under its treatment as Barringtonia asiatica (from its basionym Mammea asiatica L.), this species was published in Preliminary Report on the Forest and other Vegetation of Pegu App. A: 65. 1875. "Name - Barringtonia asiatica (L.) Kurz". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Name - Mammea asiatica L. synonyms". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b Mammea asiatica L. (the basionym to Barringtonia asiatica) was originally described and published in Species Plantarum 1: 512–513. 1753. "Name - Mammea asiatica L.". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ria Tan (2001). "Sea Poison Tree". Mangrove and wetland wildlife at Sungei Buloh Nature Park. Singapore. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b GRIN (October 1, 2010). "Barringtonia asiatica information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b Thiel, M. and Gutow, L. (2004). "The ecology of rafting in the marine environment. I." (PDF). Oceanography & Marine Biology; An Annual Review. 42: 181–263. doi:10.1201/9780203507810.ch6. Accessed 2009-05-31.
- ^ Smith, S. Percy. "Futuna, or Horne Island, and Its People". The Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 33 – 52. 1892
- ^ Flora of China: Barringtonia asiatica
- ^ Tsou, C-H., and Mori, S.A. "Seed coat anatomy and its relationship to seed dispersal in subfamily Lecythidoideae of the Lecythidaceae (The Brazil Nut Family)." Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica. Vol. 43, 37-56. 2002. Accessed 2009-05-31.
- ^ Thaman, R.R. "Receptors Batiri kei Baravi: The ethnobotany of the Pacific island coastal plants." Atoll Research Bulletin. Vol. 361, 1-62. May, 1992. Accessed 2009-05-31.
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Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barringtonia_asiatica&oldid=640620133 |
Trees 7-20 m tall. Branches stout; bark fissured. Leaves sessile, obovate to obovate-oblong, 20-40 × 10-20 cm, leathery, shiny, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse or broadly rounded. Racemes mostly terminal, erect, 5-15 cm, 5-10(-20)-flowered; bracts ovate, 8-20 mm; bracteoles triangular, 1.5-5 mm. Pedicel 5-9 cm. Flower buds 2-4 cm in diam. Calyx undivided, rupturing at anthesis into 2 or 3 unequal, rounded or acuminate, persistent lobes 3-4 × 2-3 cm and a tube 3-5 mm. Petals 4, white, ovate or elliptic, 5-6 cm. Stamens in 6 whorls; tube 1.5-6 mm; filaments and style white, red-tipped; outer filaments 7-9 cm. Ovary 4-loculed, 5-9 mm; ovules 4 or 5 per locule; style 11-13 cm. Fruit dispersed by floating, broadly pyramidal, smooth, 9-11 cm, apex tapering and crowned by calyx; pericarp spongy, fibrous. Seed oblong, 4-5 cm. Fl. and fr. almost year-round. 2n = 26.
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Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014675 |
Mammea asiatica Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 512. 1753; Agasta indica Miers; Barringtonia speciosa J. R. Forster & G. Forster.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014675 |
Systems
- Terrestrial
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Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/31339 |
Depth range based on 3 specimens in 1 taxon.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 0
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
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Rights holder/Author | Ocean Biogeographic Information System |
Source | http://www.iobis.org/mapper/?taxon_id=739589 |