46 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



heartwood is dark-reddish-brown streaked with lighter brown, 

 sometimes it is almost black. The sapwood is pale, with 40 — 

 50 seasonal rings. The pith rays are thin and broad ; the ducts 

 are open and diffuse. The wood makes an excellent fuel. As 

 it is not attacked by teredos, it is sometimes used for wharf 

 pilings. It also has been used for flooring. The mangrove, 

 however, grows in situations that render very difficult the cut- 

 ting and transportation of the wood and it is of little com- 

 mercial importance. 



The young branches are stout, terete, conspicuously 

 marked by the large, oval, slightly elevated leaf-scars. The 

 leaves are opposite and stipulate, and the blades are oblong, 

 oval or elliptical. The upper surface is dark green and very 

 glossy; the lower surface is pale, but also very smooth. The 

 leaves are persistant for 1 or 2 years. It is interesting to note 

 that the old leaves serve for water-storage organs. The old, 

 yellowish leaves are twice as thick as leaves which have just 

 attained their full size and the former are notably charged with 

 water. The flowers are small, dull colored and not particular- 

 ly conspicuous. They are produced continuously throughout 

 the year in the axils of the young leaves. The flowers are 

 perfect, regular and when fully expanded are about 1 inch in 

 diameter. 



The fruit is berry-like, 1 inch long, conical, rusty-brown, 

 leathery and slightly studded with minute bosses. It is nor- 

 mally 1 -celled and 1 -seeded. It is subtended by the persis- 

 tent reflexel calyx-lobes and perforated at the apex by the 

 germinating embryo. The fruit is said to be sweet and edible 

 and its juice, when fermented, yields a light wine. The apex 

 of the seed is surrounded by a thin, albuminous, cup-like aril. 

 The cotyledons are dark purple. The embryo is surrounded 

 by a thin coat of albumen. The seed coat is thick and fleshv. 



