Woody > Excoecaria > Excoecaria agallocha > Excoecaria agallocha
Excoecaria agallocha
The Blinding Mangrove
Origin: Asia, Australia and Africa.
| Family |
| Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus |
| Excoecaria |
| Species |
| agallocha |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Shrub (evergreen) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 13b |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 8a |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H1a |
| Temperature (°C) |
| 20 - 30 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 70 - 88 |
| Height |
| 15 - 20 m |
| Spread |
| 8 - 10 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| Cultivation |
| Desires hot and humid air conditions above 25° C, in conjunction with a nearby water table that it may draw from and establish. Requires full sun and in sandy and silty soil. |
| Shape |
| Tall bushy canopy. |
| Growth |
| Fast |
| ID Characteristic |
| Unlike other Mangrove species, Excoecaria agallocha does not have aerial roots that emerge from the water to help gather extra oxygen. |
| Pests |
| O. melicerta and mangrove longhorn beetle. No known diseases. |
| Habitat |
| River edges or near humid tropical beaches. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Cracked woody bark with sap extrusions. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| Pointy buds. |
| Leaf Description |
| Leaves are simple and obovate, hanging downwards whorled around their branches. They are roughly 8 x 4 cm, with petioles that are about 2 cm long and have between 12 - 18 veins going laterally from the midrib. |
| Flower Description |
| Elongated, narrow cone-shaped spiky flowers often pointing downwards. |
| Fruit Description |
| Small, 3 - lobed capsule fruits with very short petioles. Often in loose terminal clumps of 10 fruit or more. |
| Colour Description |
| Dark brown to light grey branches. Dark brown bark. Leaves range in colour from light to dark green depending on the season. Fruit are a deep green. Flowers are lime green to yellow-green. |
| Texture Description |
| Young growth is smooth. Mature growth appears woody, cracked and covered in extrusions of sap. |
| Propagation |
| Propagation by seed. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| Treatments for diabetes, cancer, paralysis, leprosy and rheumatism have been created from the oils in the bark. The toxic milky latex sap has been used in abortions, purging stomach sicknesses and ulcers. The crushed leaves have been used to create poisons to stun fish while hunting, as well as in poison darts. The roots, when crushed, are used to treat swelling, and tooth pain. Oils from the bark and wood have been used to treat poisonous stings from marine creatures. |
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