Aegiceras corniculatum at Muzhappilangad, Kannur 3

''Aegiceras corniculatum'', commonly known as black mangrove, river mangrove, goat's horn mangrove, or khalsi, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

in the primrose

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Primulaceae The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the Onagraceae, evening primrose family), are a family (biology), family of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants ...

, with a distribution in coastal and estuarine areas ranging from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

through

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

to southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and

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Description

''Aegiceras corniculatum'' grows as a shrub or small tree up to high, though often considerably less. Its

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are alternate, obovate, long and wide, entire, leathery and minutely dotted. Its

fragrant An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vol ...

, small, white

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are produced as umbellate clusters of 10–30, with a peduncle up to 10 mm long and with

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long. The calyx is long and corolla long. The fruit is curved and cylindrical or horn-shaped, light green to pink in colour and long. It grows in mud in estuaries and tidal creeks, often at the seaward edge of the mangrove zone. The species is of interest to many

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s, including species from the genera '' Anarsia'', ''

Archips ''Archips'' is a genus of tortrix moths the tribe Archipini. Species include the oak leaf roller (''A. semiferanus''), which eats the leaves of oak trees. Species *''Archips abiephage'' (Yasuda, 1975) *''Archips alberta'' (McDunnough, 1923) ...

'' and ''

Phyllocnistis ''Phyllocnistis'' is a genus of moths in the family Gracillariidae. Description Adult Adults of the genus ''Phyllocnistis'' are very small moths with wingspans generally not exceeding 5 mm. Both fore- and hindwings are lanceolate and predo ...

'', as well as the species ''Darna trima'', '' Gonodontis clelia'' and '' Neurozerra conferta''.

Medicinal uses

''Aegiceras corniculatum'' extract has

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

properties which supports a fight against

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. The stems of the plant contain up to seven compounds, including: 2-methoxy-3-nonylresorcinol, 5-O-ethylembelin, 2-O-acetyl-5-O-methylembelin, 3,7-dihydroxy-2,5-diundecylnaphthoquinone, 2,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxy-3,6-diundecyldibenzofuran-1,4-dione, 2,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-3,9-diundecyldibenzofuran-1,4-dione (6), and 10-hydroxy-4-O-methyl-2,11-diundecylgomphilactone.

References

External links

* Primulaceae Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Mangroves Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa named by Francisco Manuel Blanco {{Primulaceae-stub