Heritiera

Family

Malvaceae

Name Reference

Heritiera Aiton

Origin of Name

Named in honour of French magistrate and one of the great amateurs of botany, Charles-Louis L’Heritier de Brutelle (1746-1800) – a survivor of the French revolution, and the one who first described Eucalyptus from Australia ( [1]).

Summary

One species in Australia ( [1]).

Description

Heritiera Aiton (1789) consists of 29 species of mostly rainforest trees distributed from Africa to India, Asia and the Pacific. It is distinguished by its leaves being silvery white underneath. In upland species, the pod’s keel is winged to facilitate wind-dispersal, but for water-dispersed mangrove species it is much reduced. Three species are considered mangrove inhabitants, although only one is recorded for Australia. Heritiera littoralis is distinguished from H. globosa Kosterm. and H. fomes Wall., by its smooth, ovoid fruits that are slightly flattened on one side with an extended keel, and leaves with short petioles less than 2 cm long. Fruits float with the keel upward, presumably functioning as a sail, and they readily germinate in muddy sediments at the upper intertidal zone ([1]).

References

-- NormDuke and EmmaClifton - 2012-06-25