CERIOPS 503 



C. Moxburghiana. Simdarbans, coast of Burma, Malay Peninsula and 

 Archipelago. 



Both are indiscriminately known in the >Sundarbans as goran, and are in 

 great demand for fuel and house-posts. The goran is often gregarious, forming 

 nearly pure forests in many places ; it is also found in mixture with various 

 other species. In Chittagong, Ceriops is worked as coppice on a rotation of 

 eight years for the production of small fuel and of bark, the latter being sold 

 to fishermen for tanning their nets. In the Malay region the bark is considered 

 superior to that of any other mangrove for cutch making : it is also used for 

 dyeing a red colour. 



3. KANDELIA, Wight and Arn. 



Kaudelia Rheedii, W. and A. Vern. Goria, Beng. ; Madama, Burm. 



An evergreen shrub or small tree with spongy reddish brown flaky bark, 

 eUiptical oblong leaves 3-5 in. long, and white flowers. Fruits ovoid, 0-5-1 in. 

 long, encircled by the calyx lobes ; hypocotyl up to 15 in. long. This man- 

 grove is not as a rule so common as most of the others ; it occurs usually on 

 the banks of tidal rivers some little distance inland, and not so much near the 

 sea-face. The wood is soft, and is used only for fuel and charcoal. 



4. BRUGUIERA, Lam. 



Species 1. B. gymrwrhiza, Lam. ; 2. B. eriopetaJa, W. and A. ; 3. B. caryo- 

 phylloides, Bl. ; 4. B. parviflora, W. and A. 



1. Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Lam. Vern. Kankra, Beng. ; Kandal, Mai. 

 This, the largest of the mangroves, is an evergreen tree attaining under 



favoiu-able conditions a height of 80 ft., though in India a height of 30-40 ft. 

 is more usual. In Malaya it is said to reach a height up to 100 ft. and a girth 

 up to 5 or 6 ft. Bark rough, dark, with large corky lenticular patches. Flowers 

 large, solitary, orange or red. Fruit 0-7-1 in. long, enclosed in the calyx tube 

 and crowned by the 12-14 red calyx lobes. The hypocotyl usually grows to 

 6-12 in. in length before di'opping, but may attain a length of 2 ft. The flowers 

 and fruits are produced from June to October. 



This tree is a common one in the mangrove forests of the Indian region, 

 being associated with the two species of Ehizophora and occurring as a rule 

 immediately behind them. Unlike these, however, it is not supported on stilt- 

 roots, but produces knee-roots along the surface of the ground. 



Bourdillon says it is very common on the backwaters about Quilon, form- 

 ing with the two species of Rhizophora the majority of the mangroves seen 

 there. Talbot says it is equally common with Rhizophora in the North Kanara 

 mangrove formations, and Prain says it is the chief constituent of the mangrove 

 jimgles in the Cocos Islands. 



The wood is reddish brown, very hard, used for beams, posts, planks, and 

 firewood ; it is said to be difficult to split. The bark is sometimes used for 

 tanning. 



2. Bruguiera eriopetala, W. and A. 



A tree strongly resembling the last species, but smaller, with large, solitar}^ 

 yellow flowers. 



