Quick Facts
common name :
Manda, Kanna, Upatha,Indian mangrove
Scientific Name :
Avicennia officinalis
Kingdom :
Plantae}
Clade :
Tracheophytes Angiosperms Eudicots Asterids
Order :
Lamiales
Family :
Acanthaceae
Genus :
Avicennia
Species :
A. officinalis
Conservation Status :
3
Type of Mangrove :
True mangrove
Type of Roots :
pencil like pneumatophores
General Characters
Tree or shrub, Tree to 12m tall, sometimes 22m. Bark is smooth, with lenticels, light coloured and not fissured
Other Characters
Tree well branched, Smooth brownish brown bark Distribution : prefer low salinity. Found in lagoon fringing mangals away from the lagoon mouth.
Features of Flower
Inflorescence : umbel or a panicle, terminal and in the axils of the uppermost leaves. Petals:4, Yellow colour Calyx: 5 lobed Size : diameter 6-8cm, zygomorphic, sessile flowers in compact heads, 4 stamens. Larger than A. marina. Seed type: Crypto viviparous
Features of Fruits
Size: 2.5-3cm long,2-2.5cm widt Colour: pericarp greenish yellow Surface: densely hairy, wrinkled, broadly ovoid, beaked or heart shape.
Leaf Arrangment
Simple, opposite, Above – dark green Beneath – whitish yellow Blade: obovate or broadly oblong Apex: rounded Size: 4-12cm long (posses salt glands) Dark green shiny above, slightly hairy beneath, edges slightly curved down, possesses salt glands.
Distribution
Prefer low salinities.Mainly found in lagoon fringing mangals away from the lagoon mouth
Range
Coasts of tropical Asia from Pakistan through to the Philippines and Australia.
Type of Roots
pencil like pneumatophores
IUCN Red List Status
