Sonneratia Caseolaris

•It is a tree usually up to 15 m tall, occasionally reaching 20m.

•Brown to grey and slightly fissured on trunk, young bark on stems and branches smooth waxy brown.

•It has underground roots as well as up to 1.5 m-tall upright, breathing roots (pneumatophores) at its base.

•Its opposite, shortly-stalked leaves possess leathery leaf blades that vary from oval to drop-shaped. The deep green leaf blades are 4.5–13 by 1.5–7 cm.

•Its flowering shoots bear dark red-petalled flowers that are 1.5 cm wide, with numerous prominent pinkish-white stamens, filamentous and powderpuff-like when fully open. The flowering shoots are found at leaf angles, or develop at the ends of leafy branches. The flowers open at dusk and last only for 1 night, scented like butter or sour milk, nectar-rich.

•Its green fruits are round, leathery berries that are up to 7.5 cm wide. They are seated on a flattened, cup-like structure formed by the persistent sepals. Its buoyant, water-dispersed seeds are irregularly shaped, up to 7 mm long, and embedded in fruit’s fleshy pulp.