Cerbera manghas
Growing on beaches above the high tide mark or in forest near sea.
Cerbera manghas
Family: Apocynaceae
Common name: sea mango, rubbertree
Chinese common name: 海檬果、海芒果
Description
- Distributed from Seychelles through eastern Asia and Malesia to the Pacific Islands and northern Australia.
- Petiolate; leaf blade papery to coriaceous, elliptic to obovate, base cuneate, apex acuminate, apiculate rarely rounded. Simple leaf with spirally alternated pinnately vein. Peduncle stout. Pedicel terete, flowers are corolla white, pinkish in center; tube with villous inside ; lobes ovate, falcate. Smooth drupes. Fruit oblong or ellipsoid; reddish when mature.Seeds usually single. The entire plant is toxic and can be fatal.
Adaptation
The structure of Sea mango has water-retaining and salt-resistant functions, therefore it has the ability of adaptation to environments with strong winds, strong sunlight, and high salt content in soil. The seeds can mostly float on the water and can be spread by currents.
