CONTENTS
Flora index
Fauna index
guide to the mangroves of singapore
Flowering plants
Peter K L Ng and N Sivasothi (editors)
 
Perepat
Sonneratia alba
Family Sonneratiaceae


East Africa to Southeast Asia, Australia. Locally at many sites. Large tree to 20 m tall; bark light grey, fissured.

Leaves opposite, blade dull light green, broadly drop-shaped.
wide shot of whole tree
Sonneratia alba tree

close-up of leaves and dissected fruits
Fruits and old leaves

close-up of flowering branch
Flowering branch
close-up of branch
Bark

close-up of pneumatophores
Pneumatophores
Flowers with numerous white stamens and tiny, white petals. Fruit somewhat pear-shaped, crowned by the persistent sepals whose tips bend back to the stalk. Seeds white, flattened, tiny, buoyant.

Found at the front of the mangrove belt and usually on sandy soil. Use as firewood, house building and clogs. The fruits, when ripe, are eaten by Malays.
The leaves can be eaten both raw and cooked. One of the most frequently encounted mangrove species in Singapore.

For a comparison of the fruit forms of the different Sonneratia species.

See also
Ultrafiltration of salt
and pneumatophores as adaptations to the mangroves.
What is mangrove?
Introduction

The Ecosystem

Abiotic
Biotic

Value
Intro
Products
Indirect uses
Potential uses

About Mangroves
in Singapore

History
Mangroves to visit
Conservation
 
From "A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore", Peter K. L. Ng and N. Sivasothi (editors)
Volume 1: The Ecosystem and Plant Diversity and Volume 2: Animal Diversity
Authors: Kelvin K. P. Lim, Dennis H. Murphy, T. Morgany, N. Sivasothi, Peter K. L. Ng,
B. C. Soong, Hugh T. W. Tan, K. S. Tan & T. K. Tan
BP Guide to Nature Series published by the Singapore Science Centre, sponsored by British Petroleum
© 2001 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, The National University of Singapore & The Singapore Science Centre