Barringtonia asiatica

B. asiatica is a large tree, 7 to 25 m tall, growing as a mangrove associate on sandy and rocky shores. Branches stout;bark fissured. Leaves sessile, obovate to obovate-oblong, 20-40 ? 10-20 cm, leathery, shiny, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse or broadly rounded. Racemes mostly terminal, erect, 5-15 cm, 5-10(-20)-flowered;bracts ovate, 8-20 mm;bracteoles triangular, 1.5-5 mm. Pedicel 5-9 cm. Flower buds 2-4 cm in diam. Calyx undivided, rupturing at anthesis into 2 or 3 unequal, rounded or acuminate, persistent lobes 3-4 ? 2-3 cm and a tube 3-5 mm. Petals 4, white, ovate or elliptic, 5-6 cm. Stamens in 6 whorls;tube 1.5-6 mm;filaments and style white, red-tipped;outer filaments 7-9 cm. Ovary 4-loculed, 5-9 mm;ovules 4 or 5 per locule;style 11-13 cm. Fruit dispersed by floating, broadly pyramidal, smooth, 9-11 cm, apex tapering and crowned by calyx;pericarp spongy, fibrous, green at first than turning brown when ripe and floats on water. The middle layer is spongy (like the coconut) and contains air sacs to help the fruit float (Polunin, 1987;Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2014).