COMBRETUM FAMILY (COMBRETACEAE) 



182. Mangle boton, button-mangrove 



Button-mangrove, a tree frequently shrubby in 

 habit and usually on the landward side of tidal 

 mangrove swamp forests, is distinguished as the 

 only mangrove species with alternate leaves. It is 

 further characterized by: (1) leathery and slight- 

 ly fleshy, lance-shaped or elliptic leaves IVi-^ 

 inches long and Vo-l^ inches broad, long-pointed 

 at both ends, yellow green on both sides; (2) yel- 

 low-green angled or winged twigs; (3) minute 

 greenish fragi-ant flowers less than Yie i"ch across, 

 crowded in balls less than % inch in diameter in 

 terminal and lateral clusters; and (4) purplish- 

 brown rounded conelike f I'uits Ys-Vo inch in diam- 

 eter, composed of many scalelike single 1-seeded 

 fruits about i/g inch long. 



A small evergreen tree to 20 feet in height and 

 8 inches in trunk diameter, .sometimes larger or 

 a low shrub, with spreading crown. Usually hair- 

 less throughout, but one variation has silky or sil- 

 very hairy foliage. The bark is gray or brown, 

 becoming rough, furrowed, and thick. Inner bark 

 is light brown and astringent and bitter. The 

 twigs are yellow green when young, becoming 

 brown, and with a prominent angle or wing below 

 each leaf. 



The leaves have slightly winged, short petioles 

 i/g-% inch long with 2 dotlikc glands. Leaf blades 

 are not toothed on edges and usually have several 

 dotlike glands near vein angles on lower surface. 



There are commonly several stalked balls or 

 lieads of flowers in clusters mostly 1-3 inches long. 

 Flowers are mostly bisexual, but some trees bear 

 heads of male flowers. Bisexual flowers are more 

 than Vio inch long, with hairy grayish 2-winged 

 tubular base (hypanthium), cuplike green calyx 

 with 5 lobes, 5-10 protruding stamens, and pistil 

 of inferior ovary with slender style. Male flowers 

 lack the tubular base (hypanthium) and pistil and 

 have longer stamens. 



The dry individual fruits (drupes) are brown, 

 2-winged, overlapping and separating at maturity. 

 Flowering and fruiting probably through the 

 year. 



The sapwood is light brown, and the heartwood 

 yellow brown. The wood is very hard, very 

 heavy (specific gravity 1.0), strong, and fine- 

 textured. It takes a fine polish and is said to be 

 generally vei-y durable, although susceptible to at- 



Conocarpus erectus L. 



tack by dry-wood termites. The wood has been 

 used for fenceposts, crossties, wood turning, and 

 in boatbuilding. It burns slowly and makes good 

 fuel and charcoal. 



The bark has served in tanning and medicine, 

 and the leaves contain tannin also. Elsewhere, 

 it is reported that plants can be propagated from 

 cuttings as liviuir fenceposts. In southern Florida 

 the variation with silky or silvei-y hairy foliage is 

 grown as a handsome ornamental. Plants of this 

 species will grow on dry land away from the sea- 

 shores. 



Mangrove swamp forests on silty shores near 

 salt and bi-ackish water, and sometimes also on 

 rocky and sandy shores around Puerto Rico. Also 

 in Mona, Icacos, Vieques, St. Croix, St. Thomas, 

 St. John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Anegada. 



PuiiLic FORESTS. — Aguirre, Boqueron, Ceiba, 

 Guiinica, and San Juan. 



Range. — Shores of central and southern Florida 

 including Florida Keys, Bermuda, nearly through- 

 out West Indies (except Dominica) from Ba- 

 hamas and Cuba to Trinidad and Tobago and 

 Dutch West Indies. On both coasts of continental 

 tropical America from Mexico south through Cen- 

 tral America and northern South America to 

 Ecuador and Galapagos Islands and to Brazil. 

 Also in western ti'opical Africa. 



Other common names. — botoncillo (Puerto 

 Rico) ; buttonwood (Virgin Islands) ; mangle 

 boton (Spanish) ; botoncillo, mangle prieto (Do- 

 minican Republic) ; yana (Cuba) ; mangle negro, 

 mangle prieto (Mexico) ; botoncillo (El Salva- 

 dor) ; marequito, mangle negro, mansrle marequita 

 (Costa Rica) ; zaragosa, mangle pihuelo, mangle 

 torcido (Panama) ; mangle negro, mangle garban- 

 cillo (Colombia) ; botoncillo, mangle botoncillo, 

 mangle lloroso (Venezuela) ; mangle jeli, jele 

 (Ecuador); button-mangrove, buttonwood 

 (United States, English) ; manglier (St. Lucia) ; 

 buttonbush, botoncillo (British Honduras) ; man- 

 gle, paletuvier (Haiti) ; paletuvier gris (Guade- 

 loupe, Martinique) ; mangle gris, manglier gris, 

 chene Guadeloupe (Guadeloupe) ; mangel, grijze 

 mangel, mangel blancu, witte mangel (Dutch West 

 Indies) ; mangue, mangue branco, mangue de 

 botao (Brazil). 



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