Buttonwood
Encyclopedia
Conocarpus erectus, one of two species in the genus Conocarpus
, is a mangrove
shrub
and tree
in the family Combretaceae
growing on shorelines in tropical
and subtropical
regions around the world
, including Florida
, Bermuda
, the Bahamas
, the Caribbean
, Central
and South America
from Mexico
to Brazil
on the Atlantic
coast and Mexico to Ecuador
on the Pacific
coast, western Africa
and in Melanesia
and Polynesia
. It was introduced in Kuwait
because it can thrive in high temperatures and absorbs brackish water. English common names include buttonwood, buttonbush, button mangrove, button-tree, false mangrove, Florida button, Florida buttonwood, green buttonwood, grey mangrove and Zaragoza mangrove. See also the section Common names in other languages below.
, 1–4 m (3.3–13.1 ft) tall, but can grow into a tree up to 20 m (65.6 ft) or more tall, with a trunk up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter. The United States
National Champion green buttonwood is 35 ft (10.7 m) tall, has a spread of 70 ft (21.3 m), and a circumference of 207 in (525.8 cm). The bark is thick and has broad plates of thin scales which are gray to brown. The twigs are brittle, and angled or narrowly winged in cross-section. The leaves
are alternately arranged, simple and oblong, 2–7 cm (0.78740157480315–2.8 in) long (rarely to 10 cm (3.9 in) long) and 1–3 cm (0.393700787401575–1.2 in) broad, with a tapering tip and an entire margin. They are dark green and shiny on top, and paler with fine silky hairs underneath, and have two salt glands at the base of each leaf . The fruits are button
-like (from which the common names derive), 5–8 mm (0.196850393700787–0.31496062992126 in) diameter, with no petals; they are produced in stalked panicle
s of 35-56 flowers. The fruit
is a cluster of red to brown, small scaly, two-winged cone
-like seed
s, 5–15 mm (0.196850393700787–0.590551181102362 in) long. The seed heads burst when ripe, and the seeds are dispersed by water.
It is generally found growing in brackish water
in tidal lagoon
s and bays
, but can grow in inland habitats, with records at up to 745 m (2,444.2 ft) altitude in Costa Rica
.
, not accepted as distinct by all authorities:
and in bonsai
. The variety sericeus, with silvery leaves, is especially prized for landscaping. It is an important host plant for epiphyte
s. As a result of ornamental planting, it has become naturalized
in Hawaii
. It has been used extensively in landscaping in Kuwait
and became the most abundant tree/shrub. Conocarpus is widely believed to be fodder for the African buffalo
, and it is understood that this is the source of their acidic urine.
The wood
is sometimes used in cabinets; it is difficult to work but takes a smooth finish. It is also used as firewood
, and is reported to be good for smoking meat and fish, as it burns very hot and slowly; it also makes high quality charcoal
. The bark
is high in tannin
, for which it has been harvested commercially.
Conocarpus
Conocarpus is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Combretaceae, native to tropical regions of the world. One of the species is a widespread mangrove species, the other is restricted to a small area around the southern Red Sea coasts, where it grows alongside seasonal...
, is a mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
and tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the family Combretaceae
Combretaceae
Combretaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Myrtales. The family includes about 600 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in 18 genera. The family includes the leadwood tree, Combretum imberbe. Three genera, Conocarpus, Laguncularia and Lumnitzera, grow in mangrove habitats ....
growing on shorelines in tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
and subtropical
Subtropics
The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
regions around the world
Pantropical
In biogeography, a pantropical distribution one which covers tropical regions of all of the major continents, i.e. in Africa, in Asia and in the Americas. Examples include the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa....
, including Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
on the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast and Mexico to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
on the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast, western Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and in Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
. It was introduced in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
because it can thrive in high temperatures and absorbs brackish water. English common names include buttonwood, buttonbush, button mangrove, button-tree, false mangrove, Florida button, Florida buttonwood, green buttonwood, grey mangrove and Zaragoza mangrove. See also the section Common names in other languages below.
Description
C. erectus is usually a dense multiple-trunked shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
, 1–4 m (3.3–13.1 ft) tall, but can grow into a tree up to 20 m (65.6 ft) or more tall, with a trunk up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Champion green buttonwood is 35 ft (10.7 m) tall, has a spread of 70 ft (21.3 m), and a circumference of 207 in (525.8 cm). The bark is thick and has broad plates of thin scales which are gray to brown. The twigs are brittle, and angled or narrowly winged in cross-section. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are alternately arranged, simple and oblong, 2–7 cm (0.78740157480315–2.8 in) long (rarely to 10 cm (3.9 in) long) and 1–3 cm (0.393700787401575–1.2 in) broad, with a tapering tip and an entire margin. They are dark green and shiny on top, and paler with fine silky hairs underneath, and have two salt glands at the base of each leaf . The fruits are button
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
-like (from which the common names derive), 5–8 mm (0.196850393700787–0.31496062992126 in) diameter, with no petals; they are produced in stalked panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s of 35-56 flowers. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a cluster of red to brown, small scaly, two-winged cone
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
-like seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, 5–15 mm (0.196850393700787–0.590551181102362 in) long. The seed heads burst when ripe, and the seeds are dispersed by water.
It is generally found growing in brackish water
Brackish water
Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...
in tidal lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
s and bays
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
, but can grow in inland habitats, with records at up to 745 m (2,444.2 ft) altitude in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
.
Taxonomy
There are two varietiesVariety (biology)
In botanical nomenclature, variety is a taxonomic rank below that of species: as such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name....
, not accepted as distinct by all authorities:
- Conocarpus erectus var. erectus - green buttonwood, leaves thinly hairy or hairless
- Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus - silver buttonwood, leaves densely silvery-hairy
Uses
The tree is used as an ornamental plantOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
and in bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
. The variety sericeus, with silvery leaves, is especially prized for landscaping. It is an important host plant for epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s. As a result of ornamental planting, it has become naturalized
Naturalisation (biology)
In biology, naturalisation is any process by which a non-native organism spreads into the wild and its reproduction is sufficient to maintain its population. Such populations are said to be naturalised....
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. It has been used extensively in landscaping in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and became the most abundant tree/shrub. Conocarpus is widely believed to be fodder for the African buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
, and it is understood that this is the source of their acidic urine.
The wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
is sometimes used in cabinets; it is difficult to work but takes a smooth finish. It is also used as firewood
Firewood
Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
, and is reported to be good for smoking meat and fish, as it burns very hot and slowly; it also makes high quality charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
. The bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is high in tannin
Tannin
A tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
, for which it has been harvested commercially.
Conocarpus in India
Conocarpus erectus plants can be seen in YSR Kadapa District, Andhrapradesh, Kadapa, India in the municipal corporation limits, which were planted in the year in the years 2006-07. The saplings were raised and planted within the corporation limits i.e., in the road dividers, parks, and on hillocks, to promote greenery. It is observed that this plant thrives well even under high temperature (40-45 C).Common names in other languages
Conocarpus erectus is known by a variety of other names in various localities, including Asokolo, Asopolo, Botoncahui, Botoncillo, Botonillo, Chene Guadeloupe, Conocarpe Droit, Estachahuite, Geli, Gra Mangrove, Grignon, Grijze Mangle, Grijze Mangrove, Iztac-cuahuitl, Jele, Kaba, Kan-chik-inche, Kanche, Kank-ank-che, Kank-che, Madre de Sal, Mangel, Mangel Blancu, Mangle, Mangle Blanco, Mangle Boton, Mangle Botoncillo, Mangle Cenizo, Mangle Garbancillo, Mangle Gris, Mangle Jeli, Mangle Lloroso, Mangle Marequita, Mangle Negro, Mangle Pinuelo, Mangle Prieto, Mangle Roche, Mangle Torcido, Mangle Zaragoza, Manglier, Manglier Gris, Mangrovia Grigia, Mangue, Mangue Branco, Mangue de Botao, Maraquito, N Ja, Paletuvier, Paletuvier Gris, Pash-chuhnul, Pataban, Saragosa, Taabche, Tabche, Witte Mangel, Witte Mangro, Wortelboom, X-kanche, Xtabche, Yana and Zaragosa.See also
- Changes in global mangrove distributionsChanges in global mangrove distributionsGlobal mangrove distributions have fluctuated throughout human and geological history. The area covered by mangroves is influenced by a complex interaction between land position, rainfall hydrology, sea level, sedimentation, subsidence, storms and pest-predator relationships)...
- Ecological values of mangroveEcological values of mangroveMangrove ecosystems represent natural capital capable of producing a wide range of goods and services for coastal environments and communities and society as a whole. Some of these outputs, such as timber, are freely exchanged in formal markets...
- Mangrove ecoregions