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Pemphis acidula

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Pemphis acidula
Pemphis acidula bushes on the shore of Réunion Island
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Lythraceae
Genus: Pemphis
Species:
P. acidula
Binomial name
Pemphis acidula
Synonyms[2]
  • 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. bahn-TEE-geh) or mentigi,[3][4][5] is a species of flowering plant in the family Lythraceae. It is the only species in the genus Pemphis.[6]

It is found growing in sandy and calcareous soils in littoral zones, rocky shores and mangroves throughout most of the tropical Indo-Pacific.[7][5]

Botany

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The mentigi is a stocky bush that grows up to 25 feet (760 cm) high with dense and twisted branches. Its greyish leaves are small but thick and hairy.[5][8]: 52 

  • Mentigi bushes behind a dry grass field in Europa Island.
    Mentigi bushes behind a dry grass field in Europa Island.
  • Mentigi branches
    Mentigi branches

Its flowers are small and not fragrant, each has six delicate white petals and come from stalks 5–15 mm long.[4][8]

Uses

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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.[9] In Réunion and Mauritius it is known as bois matelot.[10] 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.[11]

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.[3][12][13] 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.[14][15]

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.[16]

In Taiwan's Kenting National Park illegal picking has had a negative impact on the coastal ecosystem.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
  2. ^ "Pemphis acidula J.R.Forst & G.Forst". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b Enriquez, Marge C. "The Philippine 'bantigue' still rules the bonsai scene". Lifestyle. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Tan, Ria. "Mentigi". Wild Fact Sheets. Wild Singapore. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Corner, E. J. H. (1997). "Wayside Trees of Malaya". I (4th ed.). Malayan Nature Society: 431. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ "Pemphis J.R.Forst. & G.Forst". World Flora Online. World Flora Consortium. 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. ^ Piggott, C.J. (1961). "Notes on Some of the Seychelles Islands, Indian Ocean" (PDF). Atoll Research Bulletin. 83: 1–10. doi:10.5479/si.00775630.83.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-13.
  8. ^ a b de Wilde, W.J.J.O.; Duyfjes, B.E.E. (2016). "Lythraceae". Flora Malesiana. 22: 1–64 – via Naturalis Institutional Repository.
  9. ^ Wim Giesen; Stephan Wulffraat; Max Zieren; Liesbeth Scholten (2006). "Part 2: Description - Trees & shrubs". Mangrove Guidebook for Southeast Asia. Bangkok, Thailand: FAO, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; Wetlands International. ISBN 974-7946-85-8. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  10. ^ xycol.net Pemphis acidula J.R. Forst., 1775 - Nom pilote : miki miki
  11. ^ Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. NEI (1999), ISBN 84-7254-801-5
  12. ^ Cheng Cheng-Kung (2007). "Pemphis acidula — A Tropical Classic" (PDF). Bonsai Societies of Florida Magazine. XXXVIII, No. 4 (152 (Winter edition)). Cooper City, Florida: Bonsai Societies of Florida (BSF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-05-16.
  13. ^ Yap, Julio. "Proper maintenance and care for bonsai". Agriculture Monthly. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  14. ^ "P300T worth of threatened PH plant seized". Panay News. September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  15. ^ "DENR seizes P300K worth of threatened plant species". Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 13 September 2020.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Pawley, Andrew; Osmond, Meredith (eds). 2008. The lexicon of Proto Oceanic: The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society. Volume 3: Plants Archived 2019-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. Pacific Linguistics 599. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Australian National University.
  17. ^ Tzu-hsuan, Liu (30 April 2022). "Illegal picking of reef pemphis raises concern in Kenting". taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
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