Powder-puff tree

The powder-puff tree is salt-tolerant and therefore grows along mangrove forests, on riverbanks near the sea and on sea shores. It is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 20 metres tall. The fruits are buoyant and, much like a coconut, can drift in the water for up to two years before germinating. The tree has therefore established itself across a wide area stretching from Africa and Madagascar through South-East Asia to Australia and the South Pacific. The cream-coloured flowers grow in a raceme-like inflorescence. The flowers open at night and fall off again after just a few hours. The sweet scent of the flowers is very intense. The egg-shaped drupe is poisonous. In many regions of its range, the bark, leaves and seeds are ground up and thrown into the water. The fish poison takes effect quickly and the stunned fish end up at the water’s surface, where they can be collected by fishermen.