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Image of
Heritiera littoralis or
Looking
Glass Mangrove or Looking Glass Tree or Sundari
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Heritiera littoralis
(Looking
Glass Mangrove, Looking Glass Tree, Sundari) |
Origin: Indian and West Pacific Oceans
Family: Sterculiaceae (Cacao)
Light:
Full sun
Height: Can reach about 50' at maturity
Blooms: Hanging clusters, small, red
Foliage: Deciduous,
thick, leathery, green with silvery scales on underside, opposite, veined,
oblong-elliptic
Fruit: Terminal cluster of ornate,
wing-shaped, hard woody shell with a stiff keel on one side, green matures to brown
Soil: Rich, moist
Water: High
Propagation:
Seeds
Uses: Coastal, specimen, landscaping
Comments: Heritiera
littoralis or
Looking
Glass Mangrove
or Looking
Glass Tree or Sundari is a
rare ornamental herbal tree with an erect growth habit. The bark
is smooth and pinkish gray but is flaky on older trees. It is low
and nicely branched.Heritiera littoralis
bears clusters of small red blossoms which later turns to ornate green
fruits. When ripe, the wing-shaped nuts are brown in color.
The
leathery foliage of Looking Glass Mangrove has interesting silvery-colored
undersides and appear white. Looking Glass Tree
can be propagated from
seeds and loves the heat. It is commonly found growing in torpical coastal regions.
Heritiera littoralis makes a finee specimen in the
tropical landscape.
The
trunk of Sundari
is
very hard and durable and have been used for the production of masts,
canoes or telegraph poles. The seeds are also valued for its
extract which have been used in herbal medicine for the treatment of
diarrhoea.
USDA Hardiness Zones : 10 |
