Barringtonia racemosa (powder-puff tree, "Sagaribana")

Japanese name: サガリバナ （下がり花）
Scientific name: Barringtonia racemosa

[Overview]
An evergreen small tree about 10 m tall, found behind mangroves and in wetlands along rivers.
Leaf scars are conspicuous on the twigs.
Leaves are simple and alternate, clustered at the branch tips, obovate-oblong, 10–30 cm long.
The leaf base flares slightly in an ear-like shape, and the leaf margin is wavy or bluntly serrate.
There is almost no petiole.
Drooping racemes 20–60 cm long bear many 4-petaled flowers, white to pale pink.
The many white stamens, 3–4 cm long, are conspicuous.
The style is 3.5 cm long.
The calyx splits irregularly into 2–3 lobes.
The flowers open at night, and by morning the corolla and stamens have fallen.
The flowers are fragrant.
The fruit is angular, oblong-ovoid, 5–6 cm long.
The calyx remains at the tip of the fruit.
The fruits are carried by ocean currents.

[Uses]
Besides being used medicinally, it was also used as a fish poison.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, moderately moist soil with good aeration and water retention.
It is vulnerable to dryness.
It likes heat and humidity; the optimal growth temperature is 20°C or higher, and below 10°C it is likely to die.

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