Sonneratia griffithii Kurz

Tree, 5-20 m tall, up to 1 m diam. Leaves obovate to suborbicular, base rounded, shortly contracted into a short petiole, apex broadly rounded to sub-emarginate, texture rather thickish, nerves 10-12, (pro gen.) distinct, strongish, distinctly prominent on the upper surface, obliquely ascending; blade 7-10½ by 5½-9 cm. Mature bud 2½-3 cm long. Flowers greenish-white (PARKER). Calyx entirely smooth and not ribbed, tube rather wide-campa-nulate from a suddenly contracted base. Lobes 6-7, in fruit together with the tube horizontally ex-panded, not enveloping the base of the fruit, 6½ cm diam., thick. Fruit 2½-3 cm high, 4-5½ cm diam., hard, many-celled, apex very broadly rounded; style apparently less persistent than in S. caseolaris (= acida).

Said to be common in mangrove swamps, but it is scarce in herbaria, of which the above is a complete enumeration; LACE says: 'in places fre-quent on banks of streams, sends up many sharp-pointed aerophores'; KURZ defines its occurrence: 'common in littoral forests from Pegu down to Tenasserim, ascending the rivers as far as they are brackish'. Fl. Jan. (Siam), fr. Jan. (Siam), March (Burma), April (Bengal).

The fruit are very acid. They are sometimes used for vinegar.