Pemphis acidula
{{short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Pemphis acidula bushes.jpg
| image_caption = Pemphis acidula bushes on the shore of Réunion Island
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = [http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/178838/0 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]
| genus = Pemphis
| species = acidula
| authority = J.R.Forst & G.Forst
| range_map =
| range_map_caption =
| synonyms =
- Macclellandia griffithiana Wight
- Melanium fruticosum Spreng.
- Melanium rupestre Zipp.
- Millania rupestris Zipp. ex Bl.
- Pemphis angustifolia Roxb.
- Pemphis setosa Blanco
}}
Pemphis acidula, commonly known as bantigue (pron. {{respell|bahn-TEE-geh}}) or mentigi,{{cite news |last1=Enriquez |first1=Marge C. |title=The Philippine 'bantigue' still rules the bonsai scene|url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/804/the-philippine-%E2%80%98bantigue%E2%80%99-still-rules-the-bonsai-scene/ |website=Lifestyle |publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer |accessdate=13 September 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Tan |first1=Ria |title=Mentigi |url=http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/mangrove/pemphis/acidula.htm |website=Wild Fact Sheets |publisher=Wild Singapore |accessdate=13 September 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Corner |first1=E. J. H. |author-link=E. J. H. Corner |date=1997 |title=Wayside Trees of Malaya |edition=4th |page=431 |publisher=Malayan Nature Society |volume=I }} is a species of flowering plant in the family Lythraceae. It is the only species in the genus Pemphis.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000028527#children |title=Pemphis J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. |year=2013 |work=World Flora Online |publisher=World Flora Consortium |accessdate=2 September 2023}}
It is found growing in sandy and calcareous soils in littoral zones, rocky shores and mangroves throughout most of the tropical Indo-Pacific.
Botany
The mentigi is a stocky bush that grows up to {{convert|25|ft|cm}} high with dense and twisted branches. Its greyish leaves are small but thick and hairy.{{cite journal |last1=de Wilde |first1=W.J.J.O. |last2=Duyfjes |first2=B.E.E. |title=Lythraceae |date=2016 |url=https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/640474 |journal=Flora Malesiana |volume=22 |pages=1–64 |via=Naturalis Institutional Repository}}{{rp|52}}
{{gallery|mode=packed |height=150px
|File:Pemphis acidula bushes02.JPG|Mentigi bushes behind a dry grass field in Europa Island.
|File:Pemphis acidula flowers01.jpg|Mentigi branches
}}
Its flowers are small and not fragrant, each has six delicate white petals and come from stalks 5–15 mm long.
{{gallery|mode=packed |height=150px
|File:Pemphis acidula (7374295704).jpg|Pemphis acidula flowers and fruits in Aitutaki, Cook Islands.
|Image:Pemphis-acidula-blossom-by-kevin-gepford.jpg|Closeup of Pemphis acidula flower blossoms with ants on Aldabra atoll.
}}
Uses
The wood of this species has been traditionally valued in many cultures for it is hard and heavy, as well as resistant to rot and warping. It also has naturally a fine finish and may be fashioned into walking canes, fence posts, tool handles, and even anchors. In Réunion and Mauritius it is known as bois matelot.xycol.net Pemphis acidula J.R. Forst., 1775 - Nom pilote : miki miki In the Maldives this hardy wood was used in traditional shipbuilding to hold the planks of the hull together, as well as to fashion "nails" in local sorcery.Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. NEI (1999), {{ISBN|84-7254-801-5}}
Pemphis acidula is also one of the plant species used in bonsai. Due to its tropical preference and typhoon-resistance, it is the most common species for bonsai in the Philippines; but it is also grown as bonsai in Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.{{cite web |last1=Yap |first1=Julio |title=Proper maintenance and care for bonsai |url=https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2019/07/26/proper-maintenance-and-care-for-bonsai/ |website=Agriculture Monthly |accessdate=13 September 2020 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902010720/https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2019/07/26/proper-maintenance-and-care-for-bonsai/ |url-status=dead }} Due to its popularity and high value among bonsai enthusiasts, it is among the list of species classified as 'threatened' by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines. The collection, selling, and transport of wild Pemphis acidula is illegal in the Philippines and punishable by fines and imprisonment of up to six years.{{cite web |title=P300T worth of threatened PH plant seized |url=http://www.panaynews.net/p300t-worth-of-threatened-ph-plant-seized/ |website=Panay News |date=September 2018 |accessdate=13 September 2020}}{{cite web |title=DENR seizes P300K worth of threatened plant species |url=http://www.r5.denr.gov.ph/news-and-features/latest-news/4619-denr-seizes-p300k-worth-of-threatened-plant-species.html |website=Department of Environment and Natural Resources |publisher=Republic of the Philippines |accessdate=13 September 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
In Marovo Island, Tonga, Tahiti, and other South Pacific islands, it is used to make wooden tools such as pestles, tool handles, weapons, and combs.Pawley, Andrew; Osmond, Meredith (eds). 2008. [http://hdl.handle.net/1885/106908 The lexicon of Proto Oceanic: The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society]. Volume 3: [https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/106908/7/RossPawleyOsmond-ProtoOceanicLexicon-Vol3-Plants.pdf Plants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204014538/https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/106908/7/RossPawleyOsmond-ProtoOceanicLexicon-Vol3-Plants.pdf |date=2019-02-04 }}. Pacific Linguistics 599. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Australian National University.
In Taiwan's Kenting National Park illegal picking has had a negative impact on the coastal ecosystem.{{cite web |last1=Tzu-hsuan |first1=Liu |title=Illegal picking of reef pemphis raises concern in Kenting |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/04/30/2003777468 |website=taipeitimes.com |date=30 April 2022 |publisher=Taipei Times |access-date=30 April 2022}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2|refs=
{{cite journal |title=Pemphis acidula — A Tropical Classic |author=Cheng Cheng-Kung |journal=Bonsai Societies of Florida Magazine |year=2007 |volume=XXXVIII; No. 4 |issue= 152 (Winter edition) |publisher=Bonsai Societies of Florida (BSF) |location=Cooper City, Florida |url=http://www.bonsai-bsf.com/magazine/BSF_Magazine_07_Issue4.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516191412/http://www.bonsai-bsf.com/magazine/BSF_Magazine_07_Issue4.pdf |archive-date=2023-05-16 }}
{{cite book |title=Mangrove Guidebook for Southeast Asia |author=Wim Giesen |author2=Stephan Wulffraat |author3=Max Zieren |author4=Liesbeth Scholten |chapter=Part 2: Description - Trees & shrubs |publisher=FAO, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; Wetlands International |year=2006 |isbn=974-7946-85-8 |location=Bangkok, Thailand |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag132e/ag132e00.htm |accessdate=November 21, 2009}}
}}
External links
- {{Commonscat inline}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3374608}}
Category:Flora of the Philippines