''Barringtonia asiatica'' (fish poison tree, putat or sea poison tree) is a species of '' Barringtonia'' native to mangrove habitats from islands of the Indian Ocean in the west to tropical Asia and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is grown along streets for decorative and shade purposes in some parts of India, for instance in some towns on the southeastern shore. It is also known as Box Fruit due to the distinct box-shaped fruit it produces. Accessed 2009-05-31. The local name ''futu'' is the source of the name for the Polynesian island Futuna. 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 ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

'' in 1753 ''Mammea asiatica'' L. (the basionym to ''Barringtonia asiatica'') was originally described and published in ''Species Plantarum'' 1: 512–513. 1753. (and reassigned to the genus '' Barringtonia'' by Wilhelm Kurz in 1875).

Description

It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 7–25 m tall. The

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 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.Flora of China
''Barringtonia asiatica''
/ref>

Ecology

The fruit is dispersed in the same way as a

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

– by ocean current – and is extremely water-resistant and buoyant. It can survive afloat for up to fifteen years; it was one of the first plants to colonise Anak Krakatau when this island first appeared after the Krakatau eruption. When washed ashore, and soaked by rainwater, the seeds germinate.

Human use

All parts of the tree are

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous, the active poisons including

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

s. Box fruits are potent enough to be used as a fish poison. The seeds are ground to a powder and used to stun or kill fish for easy capture, suffocating the fish while the flesh is unaffected.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.

Gallery

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q311468 asiatica Flora of tropical Asia Flora of the Pacific Flora of the Western Indian Ocean Trees of Taiwan Flora of the Zanzibar Archipelago Flora of Queensland Ericales of Australia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of the Northern Territory Taxa named by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz Poisonous plants