It was wet and misty this morning when I walked towards the end of the jetty to take in the fresh morning air and scenery. My dog, yin-yan followed me and she spotted something that has fallen from the overhead canopy of mangrove trees. It was a flower that must have just fallen as they only open for one night. It is white pom-pom like. The species of mangrove trees at my house is called the Mangrove Apple (Sonneratia alba) or "Perepat" in malay.

No durians without Sonneratia?
The fragrant, night-blooming Sonneratia flowers are pollinated mainly by the Dawn Bat (Eonycteris spelaea), the Common Long-tailed Bat (Macroglossus minimus), and the Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis). These bats feed on nectar and pollen of flowers and rely mainly on Sonneratia for sustenance. The Dawn Bat in particular, prefers Sonneratia. They are the same bats that pollinate commercially important crops such as durians, bananas and papayas. Thus, without the Sonneratia, there would be less of these favourite fruits!

The fruits are large (4 cm) green, leathery berries with a star-shaped base. They contain 100-150 tiny seeds that are white, flattened and buoyant. I take them for granted as I see and pluck them sometimes from the trees every time I go kayaking on Sg Stutong. They give off an “assam” like fragrance when ripe that I like. They may be eaten and are said to taste like cheese! I’ll post some pictures and let you know how they taste like (if I am game enough to try!) next time.

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