Previous plant

Barringtonia asiatica

Next plant


Small plant from The Philippines.


The caudex-like nut will disappear by time.


 Image of the flower courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden.

Author:  Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz 1876
Family:  Barringtoniaceae
Habitat:   Andaman Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Islands, Chagos Archipelago, Cocos (Keeling) Island, Comoros, Cook Islands, Fiji, Gilbert Islands, India, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Line Islands, Madagascar, Malaya, Maldives, Maluku, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Nansei-shoto, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Nicobar Islands, Niue, Ogasawara-shoto, Philippines, Queensland; Australia, Réunion, Samoa, Santa Cruz Is., Seychelles, Society Islands, Solomon Islands, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi + Sumatera, Indonesia, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis-Futuna Islands
Soil:   Sand - Mix
Water:   Maximum
Sun:   Maximum
Height:  20 meters
Flower:   White
Propagate:   Seeds
Names:   Langasat, Sea Poison Tree, Fish Poison Tree, Putat Laut, Butun, Butong, Pertun, Balubiton, Lugo, Motong-botong, Vuton.
Synonyms:  Mammea asiatica Linne 1753.
Agasta asiatica, Miers.
Agasta indica,
Miers.
Agasta splendida,
Miers.
Barringtonia butonica,
Rumph. ex J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
Barringtonia levequii,
Jard.
Barringtonia littorea,
Oken.
Barringtonia senequei,
Jard.
Barringtonia speciosa,
J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
Butonica rumphina, Miers.
Butonica speciosa,
Lam.
Huttum speciosum,
Britten.
Michelia asiatica,
Kuntze.
Mitraria commersonia,
J.F.Gmel.

This member of the Barringtoniaceae family was first described under this name by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz in 1876. It is found on the costal areas from
Tanzania over  Madagascar, India, The Philippines, Polynesia to Northern Australia. It grows in sand or sand-mix with lots of water and sun. The stem will reach for up to 20 meters, and the flowers are white. It can be reproduced by seeds, and I really think cuttings are a possibility, just haven't seen it.

What seems to be a caudex on these two photos is just the large nut.

Former member of the Lecythidaceae family.