Avicennia officinalis L.

A tree up to 22.5 m high. The trunk is moderately stout and usually crooked. The outer bark is yellowish green and the inner bark is white. The bark does not peel but develops cracks along its length. The small twigs droop at their ends. The leaves are elongated with a rounded end. They can be up to 12 cm x 6 cm and are dark green on top and bluish grey underneath. The flowers are medium size. The fruit is egg shaped with a long tapering beak like tip. The fruit is yellow-brown, large and hairy when ripe.

It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows near river mouths on the edges of mangrove swamps. It is usually at the back of the mangroves on land seasonally flooded.

The young leaves are eaten. The seeds are eaten after processing. They are bitter. They need to be roasted or boiled.

Can be grown by seedlings.