Barringtonia J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

Scientific Description

Common name. Mangroves. Family Lecythidaceae.

Sometimes included in Barringtoniaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs. Leaves cauline. Stem internodes solid. Lower banks of creeks and rivers, floodplains, with roots in water. Leaves alternate (usually crowded at ends of branches); spiral; petiolate; not gland-dotted; simple. Leaf blades dissected, or entire; oblanceolate; elliptic to obovate; pinnately veined; cross-venulate; gradually tapering, narrowed. Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire, or crenate, or serrate (serrulate), or serrate to dentate. Leaf anatomy. Hairs absent. Extra-floral nectaries absent. Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes, or in spikes. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary (or lateral); inflorescences usually long, slender, pendulous racemes or long, cauliflorous spikes, many-flowered. Flowers pedicellate; bracteate (small, sessile, oblong, caducous). Bracts deciduous. Flowers bracteolate (small, caducous). Bracteoles deciduous. Flowers medium-sized to large; regular to very irregular; if irregular, asymmetric. The floral asymmetry involving the androecium, or involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers cyclic; pentacyclic, or polycyclic. Free hypanthium present; obconic, or turbinate, or campanulate; adnate to ovary, sometimes 4 angled or 4 winged. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; (5–)8–10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; 4–5 (2–4); 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; blunt-lobed (lobes longer than tube); tubular. Calyx lobes orbicular (to semicircular). Corolla present; (3–)4(–5); 1 -whorled; polypetalous; imbricate; red, or pink (dark red to deep pink). Petals obovate. Corolla members entire. Androecial members indefinite in number. Androecium 50–100 (or more — i.e. ‘many’, giving the flowers a fluffy, myrtaceous appearance). Androecial members maturing centrifugally; adnate (staminal tube partly adnate to petals); all equal (staminodes shorter); coherent (shortly connate to form staminal tube); 1–20 - adelphous; 3–5 -whorled (‘in several series’). Androecium including staminodes. Staminodes innermost 1–3 whorls sterile. Stamens 20–100 (in 3–8 whorls); all more or less similar in shape; polystemonous. Anthers basifixed; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; latrorse; each locule more or less globular; tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 2–4(–6) carpelled. The pistil 2–4 celled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth to isomerous with the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary plurilocular; 2–4 locular. Epigynous disk present. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1. Placentation axile to apical. Ovules 2–6 per locule; anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit fleshy (fibrous and hard); indehiscent; a berry (fibrous, one-seeded); 1 seeded. Seeds non-endospermic; woody and large. Embryo well differentiated.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Paleotropical.

Etymology. After Daines Barrington (1727–1800), English botanist, antiquary and lawyer.