Ceriops tagal

Botanical Description

Ceriops tagal is a glabrous shrub or small tree with a compact crown; it usually grows up to 6 metres tall, but some exceptional specimens in good growing conditions can reach up to 40 metres[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The bole is usually short and slender, occasionally reaching 40cm in diameter[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ]. The tree was formerly a commercial source of tannins and dyes. It is still an important local source of these products and is harvested from the wild for them as well as for medicines, timber and fuel. This species is widespread and common. It is highly utilized and is threatened by habitat loss throughout its range, and there has been an estimated 18% decline in mangrove area within this species range since 1980. However, it is a hardy and prolific species. Mangrove species are more at risk from coastal development and extraction at the extremes of their distribution, and are likely to be contracting in these areas more than in other areas. It is also likely that changes in climate due to global warming will further affect these parts of the range. Although there are overall range declines in many areas, they are not enough to reach any of the threatened category thresholds. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].