Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C.B.Rob.

 ALA  NSL [legitimate]
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Robinson, C.B. (1908), Philippine Journal of Science. Section C, Botany 3: 306

Nomenclature

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McCusker, A. in George, A.S. (ed.) (1984), Rhizophoraceae. Flora of Australia 22: 8, Map 10
 APC
 NSL
nomenclatural synonym: Rhizophora tagal Perr.: 8
taxonomic synonym: Rhizophora timoriensis DC.: 8
taxonomic synonym: Ceriops candolliana Arn.: 8
taxonomic synonym: Ceriops tagal var. australis C.T.White: 8
taxonomic synonym: Ceriops timoriensis (DC.) Domin: 8
  McCusker, A. in George, A.S. (ed.) (1984), Rhizophoraceae. Flora of Australia 22: 8, Map 10
 APC
 NSL
nomenclatural synonym: Rhizophora tagal Perr.: 8
taxonomic synonym: Rhizophora timoriensis DC.: 8
taxonomic synonym: Ceriops candolliana Arn.: 8
taxonomic synonym: Ceriops tagal var. australis C.T.White: 8
taxonomic synonym: Ceriops timoriensis (DC.) Domin: 8

Specimens

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Common Name

Yellow Mangrove, Yellow-leaved Spurred Mangrove.

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Description

Shrub or tree 2–15 m high, often with buttresses or small stilt roots; knee roots occasionally present; bark brownish, sometimes papery. Leaves obovate to broadly spathulate, obtuse or emarginate; lamina 3–9 cm long, 1.5–6 cm wide; stipules up to 2.5 cm long. Inflorescence 4–10-flowered; peduncle 1–2 cm long; pedicels to 2 mm. Sepals c. 4.5 mm long, erect or slightly spreading in flower, widely spreading or reflexed in fruit. Petals oblong, thickened along mid-line, with 3 club-shaped terminal appendages; margins fringed with hairs, lightly cohering. Staminal filaments c. 3 mm long; anthers less than 1 mm long. Hypocotyl 12–35 cm long, sharply pointed.

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Biostatus

Native.

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Distribution

Widespread and common in mangroves from Moçambique to the western Pacific, especially along highly saline landward margins. Both varieties occur in Australia; var. australis is reputed to be by far the more abundant and is also recorded from P.N.G. The two varieties are sympatric at least in N Qld but no intermediates have been recorded. As most material available to the author lacked propagules, the distributions of the two varieties have been mapped together.

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Ecology

Host to several butterflies, and provides nectar to birds (Beasley 2009).

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Representative Herbarium Specimens

N.T.: headland on Oyster Rd, Melville Island, G.C. Stocker 79 (DNA) (var. tagal ).

Qld: Mowbray River, 10 May 1962, W.T. Jones (BRI) (var. tagal ); 4km SE of Cape York, L.S. Smith 12521 (BRI) (var. tagal ); Cape York, Nov. 1966, W.T. Jones (BRI) (var. australis ); Sandgate, S.T. Blake 4779 (BRI) (var. australis ).

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Notes

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This species often shows very marked ecological variation within distances of just a few metres. Under the forest canopy it occurs as small scattered trees with bright green, somewhat fleshy foliage; along highly saline landward margins of mangroves it forms a dense zone of shrubs with yellow-green leathery leaves having recurved margins. Ceriops tagal var. tagal forms knee roots superficially similar to those of Bruguiera, from which they are easily distinguished by the aerenchyma of the cortex. This is a fine, red-brown, spongy tissue in C. tagal and has a white, gill-like structure in Bruguiera. C.T. White distinguished Ceriops tagal var. australis by the terete (not angular or ribbed) hypocotyl of the propagule, noting this to be the only consistent distinguishing character.

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Illustrations

V. Semeniuk et al., Mangroves of Western Australia 47, pl. 12; 48, pl. 13; 51, pl. 16a; 58, pl. 58 (1978); P.B. Tomlinson, The Botany of Mangroves 354, fig. B.74 (1986); W. Cooper & W.T. Cooper, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest 429 (2004); J. Beasley, Plants of Cape York 209 (2009).

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Bibliography

Beasley, J. (2009). Plants of Cape York: The Compact Guide. (John Beasley).

Cooper, W. & Cooper, W.T. (2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. (Nokomis Editions: Melbourne).

Semeniuk, V., Kenneally, K.F. & Wilson, P.G. (1978). Mangroves of Western Australia. Handbook No. 12. (Western Australian Naturalists' Club: Perth).

Tomlinson, P.B. (1986). The Botany of Mangroves. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge).

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Source

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Data derived from Flora of Australia Volume 22 (1984), a product of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia.

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© Copyright Commonwealth of Australia, 2024
Last updated: System; Feb 20, 2020 12:40 Status: Legacy

Author - Alison McCusker

Contributor - P.G. Kodela (tentative updates, June 2022)

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Acknowledgements -

Cite this profile as: Alison McCusker. Ceriops tagal, in (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Ceriops%20tagal [Date Accessed: 19 September 2025]