Heritiera fomes

IUCN Red List Status: Endangered (EN)

Heritiera fomes Buch.-Ham., Embassy ed. 2, 3: 319 1800. (Syn: Amygdalus minor (Roxb.) Kuntze; Balanopteris minor Gaertn.; Fometica punctata Raf.; Heritiera minor (Gaertn.) Roxb.);


India: Among mangroves in West Bengal (Sunderbans) and Orissa; Bangladesh and Myanmar (Irrawaddyy delta) as per BSI Flora of India;

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Sundari: Heritiera fomes in flower
16 April 2011
Sunderbans

Sundarban gets its name from sundari trees (Heritiera fomes)!

Very nice pictures…..I have a question…..is Heritiera littoralis different specie then Heritiera fomes?

It was 1988, when I had for the last time studied plant morphology/ taxonomy with any degree of attention (rather minimal frankly) as a student of M.Sc. It has been a while and my consequent erosion of knowledge may please be excused.

Heritiera fomes, Sundari which is a keystone species of the Ganga Brahmaputra delta, has a smaller fruit with smaller wings when compared to fruits of H littoralis, which is a species from the Andamans. The fruit in the latter has large and prominent wings and the larger fruit, oval, elongated and laterally flattened is much different from Sundari.
This is what I gathered from a friend and colleague who is a taxonomist (practicing).
Please do correct me if I am wrong.

 
 
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