''Heritiera fomes'' 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 ...
of mangrove tree in the
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 ...
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
. Its common names include sunder, sundri, jekanazo and pinlekanazo. It is the dominant
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 ...
tree species of the
Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and
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 ...
, 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
The Ganges Basin is a part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin draining 1,999,000 square kilometres in Tibet, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. To the north, the Himalaya or lower parallel ranges beyond form the Ganges-Brahmaputra divide. ...
, fluctuations in salinity due to upstream and coastal development and top dying disease. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has assessed it as being "endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
".
Description
''Heritiera fomes'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to a height of . The roots are shallow and spreading and send up pneumatophores
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 (''Fic ...
. The trunk develops buttresses and is grey with vertically fissured bark. Trees with girths of used to be found but these large trees have mostly been harvested for their timber. The trunk has few large branches and the canopy is open. The leathery leaves are elliptical and tend to be clustered at the ends of the twigs. The pink or orange bell-shaped flowers are each about across. They form in panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
s, each flower being either male or female. The fruit carpels
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
are up to long and wide. They ripen between June and August and the seeds germinate
Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...
readily.
Distribution and habitat
''Heritiera fomes'' is native to coastal regions of the Indo-Pacific, its range extending from the east coast of India through Bangladesh and Malaysia to Myanmar and Thailand.[ Compared to other species of mangrove, it grows in less saline environments and on drier ground that gets inundated by the tide only infrequently. It thrives on clayey soils and is the dominant species in these habitats, typically growing on the low banks that form around the edges of saucer-shaped, newly emerged islands.][ It is the dominant mangrove species in the area and its local name, sundari, gives the ]Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
region its name.
Uses
Timber produced from ''Heritiera fomes'' is hard, fine-grained, tough and elastic. The heartwood is dark red or reddish brown and the sapwood is a paler reddish brown. The timber has many uses; in bridge building, house construction, boat building and joinery
Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...
, as utility poles and tool handles, making hardboard
Hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard (HDF), is a type of fiberboard, which is an engineered wood product. It is used in furniture and in the construction industry.
Description
Hardboard is similar to particle board and medium-densi ...
and as firewood
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...
.[ The tree is grown commercially in plantations.]
The bark of ''H. fomes'' is rich in procyanidin
Procyanidins are members of the proanthocyanidin (or condensed tannins) class of flavonoids. They are oligomeric compounds, formed from catechin and epicatechin molecules. They yield cyanidin when depolymerized under oxidative conditions.
See the ...
s. The ethanol extract has been shown to have antioxidant
Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...
properties. It also shows antimicrobial
An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...
activities against ''Kocuria rhizophila
''Kocuria rhizophila'' is a soil dwelling Gram-positive bacterium in the genus '' Kocuria''. It is used in industry for antimicrobial testing and in food preparation.
Genome
The genome has been sequenced and contains 2,697,540 base pairs, whic ...
'', ''Staphylococcus aureus
''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often positive ...
'', ''Bacillus subtilis
''Bacillus subtilis'', known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, humans and marine sponges. As a member of the genus ''Bacillu ...
'' and ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa
''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerugi ...
'' and is non-toxic in brine shrimp toxicity tests.
Status
The International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has assessed this mangrove as being "endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
". Although it is common in places, it has a restricted range and is declining because of the clearing of mangroves for coastal development, rice farming, shrimp ponds and oil palm plantations. It is present in several protected areas in the Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
in Bangladesh as well as in India, but there and elsewhere it is being affected by top dying disease Top dying disease is a disease that affects ''Heritiera fomes'', a species of mangrove tree known as "sundri", a characteristic tree of the estuarine complex of the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Although an increase in c ...
. This causes branches and parts of the crown to die back, and can result in tree mortality. Gall cankers may be present in affected parts and wood-boring insects and fungi also attack the trees.
See also
*Top dying disease Top dying disease is a disease that affects ''Heritiera fomes'', a species of mangrove tree known as "sundri", a characteristic tree of the estuarine complex of the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Although an increase in c ...
— ''affecting this species in the Sundarbans
Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
.''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5739222
fomes
''Fomes'' is a genus of perennial woody fungi in the family Polyporaceae. Species are typically hoof-shaped (ungulate). New growth each season is added to the margin, resulting in a downward extension of the hymenium. This often results in a z ...
Mangroves
Flora of Bangladesh
Flora of West Bengal
Flora of the Andaman Islands
Flora of Myanmar
Flora of Thailand
Sundarbans
Endangered flora of Asia
Taxa named by Joseph Banks