Avicennia germinans (L.) L.
Bontia germinans L., Avicennia africana P.Beauv., Avicennia nitida Jacq., Avicennia tomentosa Jacq.
Eng.: Black mangrove (due to its blackish bark), white mangrove (due to its leaves that are lighter than other mangrove species). Spa.: Mangle prieto, mangle blanco, mangle negro. Fre.: Palétuvier blanc, palétuvier noir.
Shrub or small tree, evergreen, hermaphrodite, 3-10(15) m tall, with a highly branched trunk, rounded crown. Black or dark brown to dark reddish brown or gray bark, smooth, slightly cracked longitudinally and quite scaly. Abundant vertical respiratory aerial roots (pneumatophores), small, slender, up to 20(30) cm tall, distributed in a radius of up to 10(15) m around the tree. Leaves opposite, coriaceous, with a 2-15(27) mm petiole, without stipules. Leaf blade measuring (3)4.5-12(15) x 1.5-4.4 cm, lanceolate or lanceolate-oblong to oblong, elliptical or obovate, with an acute or obtuse apex, gradually tapering at the base, cuneate, entire, glabrous and of an intense green color above, with short hairs applied and lighter beneath. Inflorescences in axillary cymes or terminal spikes, with 1-15 pairs of flowers per spike, and a quadrangular section peduncle. Sessile flowers, 1-2 cm in diameter, actinomorphic; calyx with five sepals, 3-5 x 2-3 mm, orbicular or broadly ovate, concave, hirsute and ciliate; corolla gamopetalous, with a tube somewhat longer than the sepals and 4 ovate whitish lobes (initially yellowish but later white or cream-colored) with a yellowish or orange inner throat of the corolla; androecium with four stamens inserted in the throat, alternating with the lobes of the corolla, with a short filament. The fruit (1.2-4 x 0.7-1.5 cm) is an ovate to elliptic bivalve capsule, slightly flattened, asymmetrical, apiculate, glabrous or slightly sericeous-tomentose. Inside it contains a single seed that germinates before the fruit falls.
Flowering:
December to February.
Fruiting:
Depending on the areas, fruits can be seen on the trees almost all year round.
Habitat:
Estuaries of rivers and streams, in sandy-clayey soils with abundant salinity, in the intertidal zone, as part of the mangrove vegetation.
Distribution:
Widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical coastal areas of West Africa and America (both in the Atlantic and Pacific parts). In Africa it appears throughout its western tropical zone, where it reaches the Arguin National Park (Mauritania) in the north and, in the south, it reaches Angola.
Observations:
This species is becoming less common and more threatened because coastal areas are under increasing human pressure. In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is listed as Least Concern (LC) at global level (Ellison et al., 2010).