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Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam.

Family Name:	Rhizophoraceae
Synonyms:	Bruguiera capensis Blume, Bruguiera conjugata Merr., Bruguiera rheedii Blume, Bruguiera rumphii Blume, Bruguiera wightii Blume, Bruguiera zippelii Blume, Bruguiera celsum Rumph., Bruguiera minus Rumph., Rhizophora gymnorhiza L., Rhizophora palun, Rhizophora rheedii Steud., Rhizophora tinctoria Blanco
Common Name:	Tumu Merah, Tumu, Large-Leafed Orange Mangrove, Large-Leafed Mangrove, Bakau Besar, Betut, Tumbus, Tumus, 木榄

Full Sun

Semi Shade

Lots of Water

Bird-Attracting Plant

Native to Singapore

Fruit or Vegetable

Coastal Plant

Ornamental Flowers

Ornamental Leaves

Aquatic

Tree

Name

Family Name
Genus Epithet
Species Epithet
Name Authority
Name Status (botanical)
Synonyms
Common Names
Comments

Classifications and Characteristics

Plant Division	Angiosperms (Flowering Seed Plants) (Dicotyledon)
Plant Growth Form	Tree (Medium (16m-30m)), Aquatic & Hydrophyte
Lifespan (in Singapore)	Perennial

Mode of Nutrition	Autotrophic
Plant Shape	Conical, Columnar
Maximum Height	20 m

Biogeography

Native Distribution	South and East Africa, Madagascar through to India, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, throughout Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, northern Australia to Ryuku Islands, Polynesia and Samoa
Native Habitat	Terrestrial, Shoreline (Mangrove Forest, Backshore, Mudflat)
Preferred Climate Zone	Tropical

Local Conservation Status

Native to Singapore (Least Concern (LC))

Description and Ethnobotany

Growth Form	It is a medium-sized tree up to 20 m tall. Its bark is dark grey to brown and rough, with distinct lenticels. The plant is buttressed at the base and produces kneed roots which protrude above the substrate. When in flower, small clusters of the reddish calyxes can be seen throughout the tree.
Crown	Columnar or conical.
Foliage	Its opposite, long-stalked, leaves are thinly fleshy and leathery. Leaf blades are usually oval, lance-shaped to broadly oval, and 9–24 by 4–9 cm, dark green above, and light green below.

Flowers	The pendulous flowers are borne singly on short stalks at axils. The calyx is pinkish to dark red, 1.5–2.5 cm, top-shaped, opening up into 10–16 pointed lobes at the distal end. The petals are 9–14, 1.5 – 2.5 cm long, white to creamy orange, hairy, with 3–4 bristles at the tip.
Fruits	The fruit develops within the calyx tube and becomes enlarged when ripened. The single seed germinates within the calyx tube while attached to the parent plant, forming a green hypocotyl tipped by the radicle that emerges from the calyx, known as a propagule. The propagule is cigar-shaped, long, stout, ridged, 19–25 by 1–1.7 cm, and maturing from green to dark purple.
Associated Fauna	Its flowers are pollinated by sunbirds. It is the preferred local food plant for caterpillars of the moth, Olene mendosa.
Cultivation	It is propagated by the propagules. Washed up propagules may be collected from the shore or directly from the tree when mature (purplish) and planted straight into the potting medium. They do best with slightly alkaline soils and high-nitrogen fertilizers, e.g., urea. This mangrove species is able to thrive in freshwater conditions.
Etymology	Latin Bruguiera, after J. G. Bruguieres (1750–1799), French expolorer; Greek gymnos, naked, Greek rhiza, root, referring to the conspicuously exposed knee-roots of this species
Ethnobotanical Uses	Edible Plant Parts (Edible Fruits, Edible Leaves) Food (Fruit & Vegetable : Leaves are also eaten as salad or flavouring. The inner flesh of the hypocotyl is eaten with sugar.) Medicinal ( The bark is used as a medicine for diarrhoea and occasionally malaria. An extract of the bark is also used as a source of tannin and dye. Fruits are reportedly used as an astringent and food.) Timber & Products ( The brownish or yellowish brown, heavy, fine-grained wood is used as timber for piling, house posts, furniture, and rafters by the Malays. The wood is also made into charcoal.)

Landscaping Features

Landscaping	This tree can be planted half-submerged along the water edges of ponds, reservoirs, and waterways, or in waterlogged soil for its attractive lush foliage and reddish flowers. It is rather slow-growing, hence minimum maintenance is needed. Well-fertilized, young plants can flower at about 1 m height or less.
Desirable Plant Features	Ornamental Flowers, Ornamental Foliage, Ornamental Form
Plant & Rootzone Preference - Tolerance	Waterlogged Soils (Does not Drain Site), Saline Soils / Salt Spray, Fertile Loamy Soils, Alkaline high pH Soils

Landscape Uses	Coastal, Beachfront / Shoreline, Riverine, Pond / Lake / River, Marsh / Bog
Thematic Landscaping	Water Garden, Marsh Garden
SGMP Treatment

Fauna, Pollination and Dispersal

Fauna Pollination Dispersal Associated Fauna	Bird Attracting (Flowers), Caterpillar Moth Food Plant (Leaves, Associated with: Olene mendosa)
Pollination Method(s)	Biotic (Fauna)
Seed or Spore Dispersal	Abiotic (Water)

Plant Care and Propagation

Light Preference	Full Sun, Semi-Shade
Water Preference	Lots of Water
Plant Growth Rate	Moderate

Propagation Method

Viviparious Propagule

Foliar

Foliage Retention	Evergreen
Mature Foliage Colour(s)	Green
Mature Foliage Texture(s)	Leathery

Foliar Type	Simple / Unifoliate
Foliar Arrangement Along Stem	Opposite
Foliar Attachment to Stem	Petiolate
Foliar Shape(s)	Non-Palm Foliage (Oval, Lanceolate)
Foliar Venation	Pinnate / Net
Foliar Margin	Entire
Foliar Apex - Tip	Acute
Foliar Base	Cuneate

Non - Foliar and Storage

Branch Angle (wrt vertical)	Horizontal Ascending
Trunk Type (Non Palm)	Woody
Bark Colour(s)	Dark grey to brown and rough, with distinct lenticels

Mature Bark Texture	Lenticellate
Root Type	Underground (Tap Root), Aboveground (Buttress Root, Knee Root)

Floral (Angiosperm)

Flower & Plant Sexuality 1	Bisexual Flowers
Flower Colour(s)	Orange, Pink, Red, White
Flower Grouping	Solitary

Flower Location	Axillary
Flower Symmetry	Radial

Image Repository

Images

Others

Master ID	1968
Species ID	3260
Flora Disclaimer	The information in this website has been compiled from reliable sources, such as reference works on medicinal plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and NParks does not purport to provide any medical advice. Readers should always consult his/her physician before using or consuming a plant for medicinal purposes.