''Avicennia rumphiana'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

of tropical mangrove in the family

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in tem ...

. It is considered vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the 2008 assessment. , Plants of the World Online considered it to be only a variety of ''

Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intert ...

'', ''Avicennia marina'' var. ''rumphiana''. In the Malay language it is known as api api bulu.

Description

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is one of the tallest mangroves sometimes growing to tall with a girth of but is usually much smaller than this. The trunk has buttresses and roots which spread shallowly across the substrate and send up numerous

pneumatophore 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 ('' ...

s. These are short vertical roots and are used for gas exchange. The bark is smooth and a dark shade of grey. The leaves are in opposite pairs, oval, sometimes spoon-shaped, glossy green above and yellowish-brown felted beneath. The individual flowers are over across and in a globular cluster, both

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

and petals being hairy. The fruit capsules are also felted and contain a single seed.Api-api bulu: ''Avicennia rumphiana''
Wild fact sheets. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
Mangrove and wetland wildlife at Sungei Buloh Nature Park. Retrieved 2012-02-08.

Distribution and habitat

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is endemic to south east Asia. Its range includes Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It grows on the upper half of the foreshore preferring sandy or firm mud substrates.

Status

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is a fast-growing species and one of the first to colonize new areas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species considers it is vulnerable because it has a patchy distribution, is uncommon in some areas and is in general decline. It grows in the upper part of the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species of ...

where it is most vulnerable to human activities and habitat destruction. In the event of rising sea levels, as is expected to happen due to global warming, mangrove zones will be displaced upwards on the beach.

Uses

''Avicennia rumphiana'' is one of a number of species of mangrove planted for coastal defence. The timber is used for building construction but makes poor firewood, only being used for smoking fish and other products. The flowers produce plenty of nectar which is collected by foraging bees to make honey. The seeds are eaten as a boiled vegetable.

Etymology

The generic name is in honour of the Mediaeval

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

physician

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic ...

(980–1037). The specific name is in honour of the German-born Dutch-speaking naturalist Georg Eberhard Rumphius (Georg Eberhard Rumpf, 1627–1702) who studied the natural history of eastern Indonesia while working there for the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...

. (cited in )

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4828767 rumphiana