Keora or Mangrove apple, Sonneratia apetala

Keora or Mangrove apple (Sonneratia apetala, family: Lythraceae) is a medium-sized evergreen tree with aerial roots and drooping branches, attaining a height of 15 m. The bark of the mangrove tree is black and smooth. Needless to say, the leafy tree is salt tolerant. The fast growing tree is found through the tidal forests of Bangladesh, Myanmar and India.  

Leaves are simple, 5-10 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide, oblong-lanceolate, coriacous, shinny, tapering at the end, short-petioled.

Flowers are greenish white, terminal, single to 3-5 flowers, petal-less, articled with cup-shaped sepal, divided into 4 parts; pedicel long; stamens numerous, style is very much projected from the flower. Flowering occurs from March-August.

Fruit is big in size, round-shaped, crowned with persistent sepals. Surprisingly true, seeds germinate on the tree.

In fact, the tree is located in the water or in waterside area. So she had to take this kind of action. Fruits are many-seeded.

The honey extracted from flowers is of excellent quality. The trunk is used as rope. Wood is excellent fuel and it is used to make furniture, boat and packing cases.

The mangrove tree is also called by Kebra in Bangladesh. It is found abundantly in Sunderbans and coastal regions of the country.