Scientific Name : Cerbera manghas L.
Common Name : Cerbera, Sea Mango
Chinese Name : 海杧果
Family : APOCYNACEAE
Local distribution status : Native species
| Origin | Distributed throughout Pemba Island, the western Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The tree is native to Hong Kong. |
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| Meanings of name | Since the tree is morphologically closed to mango (Mangifera indica), it is given with the specific epithet manghas. However, the relationship between them is not as close as expected; while Sea Mango is the member of Apocynaceae, Mango is in Anacardiaceae. For a sake of identifying the trees unmistakably, you can try to pluck a small part from the tree, and only Sea Manage will secret white sap from its wounded part. On account of its mango-like appearance but often found along coastlines, it is also named as ‘Sea Mango’. |
| Toxicity | Most members of Apocynaceae are sap prolific. The sap is always lethal and differed from chemical composition among species. The sap of Sea Mango contains profuse cardiac glycosides and is concentrated in fruits and seeds. Accidental ingestion can cause vomiting, stomach pain, limb numbness, or death. Since the fruits are outwardly similar to mangos, poisoning cases with accidental ingestion are often reported in China, Sri Lanka, and India. |
| Application | Despite of its toxicity, the extracts from the seed kernel is valued for its excellent cardiotonic effect and can be processed into a traditional Chinese medicine Niuxinqie. |
| Ecology | Sea Mango also develops a specific mechanism to leave it from a shortage of seed dispersers, which is a conundrum shared among plants in coastal areas. When a mature fruit drops from its mother tree, the meticulous design of its fibrous inner fruit layer allows the fruit to carry winds and currents for voyages of miles. |
| Vitality | Plants generally do not acclimatise coastal areas where feature high temperature, fluctuating salinity and moisture, and loosen substratum. These environments, however, are ruled by Sea Mango and a small group of plants, collectively known as ‘mangrove companion’. |
| Growing habit | Small evergreen tree. |
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| Height | To 8 m tall. |
| Stems | Bark grey brown. Branches whorled, with conspicuous leaf scars. |
| Leaves | Simple leaves alternate, always clustered spirally at the apex of branchlets.Elliptic to obovate, base cuneate, apex acuminate, glabrous on both surfaces. |
| Flower | Cymes, aromatic. Petals 5, white, centre in pink. |
| Fruit | Drupes globose to ovoid, smooth, always 1-seeded, exocarp cellulosic or woody, turning green to red when mature. |
| Flowering period | April to November in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | July to December in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=4069
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Cerbera manghas Linnaeus.
― Plants of the World Online : Cerbera manghas L.