Sonneratia caseolaris

Botanical Description

Sonneratia caseolaris is an evergreen tree with a columnar crown; it can grow 5 - 20 metres tall[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. The tree is surrounded by pencil-like pneumatophores (vertical roots arising from shallow, horizontal roots) - these can vary in size, usually from 10 - 60cm tall but sizes of up to 2 metres or more have been seen when the tree is growing in soft mud[ 345 Title Minor Products of Philippine Forests Publication Author Brown. W. H. Publisher Bureau of Forestry, Manilla. Year 1920 ISBN Description A useful guide to some of the plants of the area, though terse on details. The book is out of copyright and can be legally downloaded from the Internet. ]. The tree is valued for its timber, which has a wide range of uses. It is also a very important tree in the coastal swamp community, helping to protect the soil from erosion and providing an important habitat for wildlife. This species is common through most of its range, but there are increasing threats to mangrove swamps in general, mainly from human activities. Consequently, the tree has been classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2010)[ 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. ].