Shrub or small tree, up to 5(-15) m. Innovations rusty tomentose. Branchlets 5-15 mm ø, rather abruptly narrowed at the apex, with a thick pith. Leaves simple, crowded at the apex of the branchlets, leaving large scars, obovate-oblong and with a blunt but never rounded apex which is sometimes mucronate, cuneate at the base, hairy on midrib, nerves and veins below, 10-35 by 4-12 cm; midrib slightly immersed or inconspicuous above, strongly prominent beneath; nerves straight, parallel, ending in an intramarginal looped vein, sulcate, slightly prominent or inconspicuous above, prominent beneath; veins inconspicuous above, finely dense-reticulate beneath; petiole pithy, shrunken at the base when dry, sometimes also at the apex, hairy, 3-8 cm. Racemes erect, shorter than the leaves, 3-12 cm. Flowers bisexual, 3(-4-5)-merous, c. 2 mm long. Pedicels up to 5 mm. Sepals puberulous, erect, appressed, c. 0.5-I mm long. Petals concave, spreading, finally reflexed, sparsely hairy to glabrous, accrescent to 2.5 by 1 mm. Filaments glabrous, up to 1 mm long; anther cells c. 0.75 mm long. Disk c. 0.5 mm high. Carpels 2(-3), never more than 2 fertile, connate, except at the top, rather large, growing during anthesis. Fruit obcordate, up to 2 by 2.5 cm, strongly emarginate, wings often nearly touching by the inward curved style-bases; pericarp hard-corky.
A typical constituent of the Barringtonia formation, but much rarer than most of the species belonging to that formation, though locally common on the sandy beach and behind coral reefs, below 3 m, associated with Messerschmidia argentea, Scaevola taccada, and Ochrosia, sometimes (but not in Malaysia) dominant as a rather small shrub along the shore, and of more scattered occurrence as a treelet more inland. Under the parent plant seedlings may be found in great profusion. The majority of the localities are situated on small islands or islets, and atolls, a peculiarity which it shares with very many other beach plants, such as Pisonia grandis, Suriana maritima, etc. Though its distribution is less erratic as compared with Suriana, it is less common than could be expected; the reason of its preference will probably rather lie in a sort of exacting habitat than in the chances offered by dispersal. Though not expressly stated and justified by experiments I agree with RIDLEY ( Disp. 1930 264 ) that the fruits possess buoyancy power and seem adapted to dispersal by seawater; HEMSLEY recorded that seeds have been found in the crop of birds in the Admiralty Is.The reason why it is absent in West Malaysia, the Philippines, Celebes, Java, and the Lesser Sunda Islands, save for four localities in Borneo, must remain a rather fascinating problem, similar to that found in the erratic distribution of the beach Triumfettas, Scaevola plumierii, Launaea pinnatifida, Spilanthes urens, etc.
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Locally common on sandy beaches and behind coral reefs, at elevations below 3 metres, sometimes dominant as a rather small shrub along the shore, and of more scattered occurrence as a treelet further inland.
Uses. The roots and fruits of this very bitter plant are often used against cholera, pleurisy, and other fevers. Powdered and mixed with water the beverage is taken against colic and cough. In poisoning, e.g. by snake bites, the fruits are wholesome by urging the patient to vomit ( RUMPHIUS Herb. Amb. 2 1743 129 HEYNE Nutt. Pl. 1927 872 ).
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