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''Sideroxylon puberulum'', or manglier rouge, is a species of plant in the family
It produces dense, elegant whorls of leaves, which are thick, leathery, elliptical and covered in reddish brown fur when young (especially in winter). Even adult leaves can be a furry reddish-brown on the underside.
It produces tiny hermaphroditic flowers - packed along its stems - and black berries which exude a white latex. Its wood is unusually strong and heavy.
It reaches a height of 15 meters, with a trunk diameter of 60 cm. It has grey bark. It acquired its nickname "Manglier" ("mangrove") because in older trees the inside of the trunk often decays, leaving the tree standing on multiple remains of the trunk, which look like the stilt-roots of mangrove trees. However it is relatively unrelated to the mangrove tree.
Sapotaceae
240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India
The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...
. It is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
.
Description
It produces dense, elegant whorls of leaves, which are thick, leathery, elliptical and covered in reddish brown fur when young (especially in winter). Even adult leaves can be a furry reddish-brown on the underside.
It produces tiny hermaphroditic flowers - packed along its stems - and black berries which exude a white latex. Its wood is unusually strong and heavy.
It reaches a height of 15 meters, with a trunk diameter of 60 cm. It has grey bark. It acquired its nickname "Manglier" ("mangrove") because in older trees the inside of the trunk often decays, leaving the tree standing on multiple remains of the trunk, which look like the stilt-roots of mangrove trees. However it is relatively unrelated to the mangrove tree.
Relatives and distinguishing features
It shares its habitat with its sister-species, ''Sideroxylon cinereum
''Sideroxylon'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (''sideros''), meaning " iron ...
'' ("Manglier vert"), a similar tree that can be distinguished by its more slender, divided trunks, and by the fact that its young leaves are hairless.
It can also be confused with the trees of the endemic ''Labourdonnaisia
''Labourdonnaisia'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae found in tropical Asia, described as a genus in 1841.
''Labourdonnaisia'' is native to certain islands in the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion).
The genus is named ...
'' ("Bois de Natte") genus - which occur in the same habitat. However the ''Labourdonnaisia'' trees have parallel venation on their leaves - while the ''Sideroxylon'' trees have densely-netted venation and a strong midrib under their leaves.
Distribution
The tree was formerly abundant throughout Mauritius, but was widely exterminated due to demand for its wood, and it is now a protected species (listed as Vulnerable). It survives predominantly in the highlands, in intermediate and upland forest. It is also beginning to be propagated in its native country of Mauritius, as an ornamental landscape tree for gardens and public spaces.References
puberulum Endemic flora of Mauritius {{Sapotaceae-stub