4? MANGROVE SWAMPS 
A small tree, 6 to 10 meters high, the vegetative parts, buds, 
and fruits covered with numerous small round scales. Leaves 
alternate, rather thick, crowded at the ends of the branches, 
margin smooth, apex rounded, base narrowed, 5 to 10 centi- 
meters long, 3 to 6 centimeters wide, petioles 2 to 5 centimeters 
long. Flowers small, crowded at the tips of short axillary stalks. 
nearly white, and with five petals. The anthers are few in 
number and crowded at the apex of a short tube. The fruit is 
a small, pear-shaped capsule, about 1.5 centimeters long, and 
contains a few small seeds densely covered with a cottonlike 
substance. 
The wood is moderately hard; of smooth, fine texture; pure 
creamy-white, but bluing easily in seasoning. It is a pretty 
wood, but little known and rarely cut except with mixed firewood. 
Family 7, STERCULIACEAE 
Genus HERITIERA 
HERITIERA LITTORALIS Dryand. (Plate XIV). DUNGON-LATE. 
Local names: Duvigon-late and dingon (Tayabas, Baler, Negros, Butuan, 
Camarines, Masbate, Lanao, Palawan, Zamboanga, Mindoro, Bataan, Cota- 
bato, Zambales, Manila, Misamis, Leyte, Basilan, Surigao, Palaui Island, 
Sorsogon, Ticao, Guimaras, Agusan) ; paundpin (Cagayan) ; magdyao (Ca- 
gayan); palugapig, palingdpoi, parondpin, parondpoi (Cagayan, Panga- 
sinan, Zambales); baut (Moro); malaringon (Tayabas); palongapui 
(Iloko) ; durgon-lalao (Tayabas) ; bdarit (Zamboanga) ; dumon (Cagayan) ; 
bayag-kabayo (Manila). 
This is a tree which grows on the inner part of the swamp 
and sometimes on dry land just back of the swamp. The bark 
is light colored and coarsely furrowed. There is a thin outer 
layer which peels off readily and leaves a dark-brown color. 
Most of the trees are small and useless, though occasionally 
large-sized trees are found. It may reach a diameter of about 
90 centimeters and have a clear length of 15 meters. 
The wood is very hard, heavy, very tough and flexible, but 
not resilient. The sapwood is up to 6 or 8 centimeters in 
thickness; in mature trees sharply marked off from heartwood. 
The heartwood is reddish brown to dark chocolate, often con- 
taining masses of stony deposits in old knots and heart cracks. 
The grain is crossed and sometimes curly; texture fine, dense, 
smooth, but not glossy. Logs and large timbers are liable to 
split deeply in seasoning; boards less liable to split, but must 
be piled carefully and heavily loaded to prevent warping. It 
is very difficult to work, both on account of its hardness and 
toughness, and because it dulls tools badly, even when no stony 
deposits are met. The heartwood is rarely attacked even by ter- 
mites and only eaten slowly by teredos. The sapwood is rapidly 
