3O HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



317. LAGUNCULARIA RACEMOSA GAERTN. F. 



WHITE MANGROVE. WHITE BUTTONWOOD. 

 Ger., Weisze Knopfbaum. Fr., Manglier. blanc. 



Sp., Mangle bianco, Pataban (Cuba). 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS : See the ordinal and generic descriptions, this being 

 the only species. 



The White Mangrove attains the height of 50 or 60 ft. (i8m.) or 

 more in crowded hammock growth, but when found close along the 

 water's edge it develops a low, wide-spreading top of irregular 

 branches. The trunks attain a thickness of from 12 to 20 inches and 

 are vested in a dark brownish gray somewhat fibrous bark, fissured 

 into low flat, more or less reticulated ridges. 



, HABITAT. Low tidal lands along the coasts of Florida south of 

 Cape Canaveral and Cedar Keys, of the southern Keys, Bermuda, the 

 Bahamas, West Indies, southern Mexico, Central America and tropical 

 South America, also western Africa. Generally a common species, 

 but confined to the immediate proximity of the sea. 



PROPERTIES. Wood heavy, hard, strong, close grained, with numer- 

 ous very fine medullary rays and quite uniformly distributed open 

 ducts and susceptible of a good polish. It is of a light purple-brown 

 color with lighter sap-wood. Specific Gravity, 0.7137; Percentage of 

 Ash, 1.62; Relative Approximate Fuel Value, 0.7021; Coefficient of 

 Elasticity, 72396; Modulus of Rupture, 518; Resistance to Longi- 

 tudinal Pressure, 449; Resistance to Indentation, 149; Weight of a 

 Cubic Foot in Pounds, 44.48. 



USES. The wood, though of excellent qualities, is not of commer- 

 cial importance, owing to limited size and crooked trunks. It is useful 

 for fuel. 



The bark is rich in tannin and is sometimes used in tanning leather. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. The bark is astringent and tonic, but not 

 recognized in the pharmacopoeia. 



ORDER SAPOTACE^E: SAPODILLA FAMILY. 



Leaves alternate or sometimes clustered, simple, entire, pinnately-veined, 

 mostly coriaceous, petiolate, with stipules. Flowers small, regular, perfect, in 

 axillary clusters; calyx of 5-8 persistent sepals, imbricated; corolla hypogenous, 



