80 MANGROVE SWAMPS 
Family 14, VERBENACEKAE 
Genus AVICENNIA 
Trees of Avicennia are distinguished from all others in the 
swamps by the lower surface of the leaves being light gray or 
white. This character is most nearly approched in Heritiera, 
the lower surfaces of the leaves of which have a silvery 
appearance. 
Key to the species. 
Tips of leaves usually somewhat rounded.................... Avicennia officinalis. 
Tipstotgleaves*pointed:.6-4 set! 512 ee ee ee Avicennia alba. 
AVICENNIA OFFICINALIS Linn. (Plates XXXVII, XXXVIII). Apt-Apt. 
Local names: Miapi (Samar, Leyte, Masbate); api-api (Capiz, Ba- 
taan, Davao, Zamboanga, Cotabato, Palawan, Mindoro); kalapini mangit- 
it (Zambales); burgalon (Marinduque, Tayabas, Pangasinan, Zambales, 
Mindoro, Capiz, Iloilo, Camarines, and Negros); kuldsi (Cotabato); ka- 
lapin’ (Pangasinan, Bataan, and Zambales); pipisig or pipisik (Tayabas, 
Camarines, Mindoro); piapi (Iloilo, Capiz, Agusan, Tayabas); lingog 
(Cagayan); piksik (Mindoro). 
This species is a tree of the outer part of the swamp. The 
bark is usually light gray or brown and rather smooth but 
finely checked by small cracks. The air roots are numerous, 
small, 8 to 20 centimeters high, and conical. This species is of 
little value. In swamps where cutting has been excessive, and 
more valuable species removed, the latter are often largely re- 
placed by Avicennia officinalis. 
The wood is hard, heavy, brittle, but difficult to split, having 
an exceedingly crossed spiral grain. The sapwood is 4 to 6 
centimeters thick, whitish, turning in drying to gray or light 
brown, in large trees sharply marked off from heartwood. The 
heartwood is purplish gray. The grain is very conspicuous from 
alternate bands of hard and soft tissue, very strongly crossed, 
often irregularly wavy. The texture of the hard tissue is ex- 
tremely fine and dense; of the soft tissue, somewhat coarser. The 
wood seasons well, but the sapwood is liable to stain badly if 
not seasoned quickly. It is not difficult to work. The durability 
is said to be poor, but the wood is rarely attacked by beetles. 
It is used locally for rice mortars; is a favorite in some regions 
for smoking fish; a wood that for its peculiar color and attractive 
grain should find a good place in small cabinetwork; recom- 
mended for trial in creosoted paving blocks. 
The leaves are leathery, opposite, dark green above, very pale 
and hairy beneath, usually somewhat rounded at the apex, 
narrow at the base, 5 to 10 centimeters long and 2.5 to 5 centi- 
meters broad; midrib stout and very prominent. The flowers 
