This is a very distinctive mangrove tree and while it can be confused with Lumnitzera when sterile, it can readily be told apart from that species by crushing the leaves and smelling the wonderful tea-tree scented oil that is released. In ‘Plants of the Top End’, John Brock writes of this plant being used by aborigines to ‘flavour turtles’.
Flower closeup
Flower closeup
Note red young stems and leaf stalks. Oil dots can also be seen on the leaves.
About David Tng
I am
David Tng, a hedonistic botanizer who pursues plants with a fervour. I chase the opportunity to delve into various aspects of the study of plants. I have spent untold hours staring at mosses and allied plants, taking picture of pollen, culturing orchids in clean cabinets, counting tree rings, monitoring plant flowering times, etc. I am currently engrossed in the study of plant ecology (a grand excuse to see 'anything I can). Sometimes I think of myself as a shadow taxonomist, a sentimental ecologist, and a spiritual environmentalist - but at the very root of it all, a "plant whisperer"!
Leaf Whispering in the Tropics 