Lumnitzera is an Indo-West Pacific mangrove genus in the family Combretaceae. An English common name is black mangrove.[3] (However, "black mangrove" may also refer to the unrelated genus Avicennia.) Lumnitzera, named after the German botanist, Stephan Lumnitzer (1750-1806), occurs in mangroves from East Africa to the Western Pacific (including Fiji and Tonga), and northern Australia.[1]
The genus has two species of similar vegetative appearance but with differing flower colour. Lumnitzera littorea has red flowers whereas Lumnitzera racemosa has white flowers. Both species have flat and spoon-shaped (spathulate) leaves with emarginate tips. L. racemosa dominates in the western part of the range and L. littorea dominates in the east. Hybrids occur within the zone of overlap (Lumnitzera × rosea).[1]
Three genera of the tropical woody family Combretaceae, Laguncularia, Conocarpus, and Lumnitzera, are found in mangroves but Lumnitzera is the only one to occur in the Indo-West Pacific mangroves, including Australia.[1]
Lumnitzera racemosa var. racemosa (Tonga mangrove, Afrikaans: Tonga-wortelboom, Zulu: Isikhaha-esibomvu) is a protected tree in South Africa.[4]
There have been a number of taxa that possessed the Lumnitzera genus that are now unplaced or assigned to other taxa:
Lumnitzera is an Indo-West Pacific mangrove genus in the family Combretaceae. An English common name is black mangrove. (However, "black mangrove" may also refer to the unrelated genus Avicennia.) Lumnitzera, named after the German botanist, Stephan Lumnitzer (1750-1806), occurs in mangroves from East Africa to the Western Pacific (including Fiji and Tonga), and northern Australia.
Lumnitzera littorea, Tonga Lumnitzera racemosa, Indonesia The genus has two species of similar vegetative appearance but with differing flower colour. Lumnitzera littorea has red flowers whereas Lumnitzera racemosa has white flowers. Both species have flat and spoon-shaped (spathulate) leaves with emarginate tips. L. racemosa dominates in the western part of the range and L. littorea dominates in the east. Hybrids occur within the zone of overlap (Lumnitzera × rosea).
Three genera of the tropical woody family Combretaceae, Laguncularia, Conocarpus, and Lumnitzera, are found in mangroves but Lumnitzera is the only one to occur in the Indo-West Pacific mangroves, including Australia.
Lumnitzera racemosa var. racemosa (Tonga mangrove, Afrikaans: Tonga-wortelboom, Zulu: Isikhaha-esibomvu) is a protected tree in South Africa.
