Avicennia

views updated

Avicennia (family Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae) A genus of small trees which have greyish, opposite leaves. The flowers are small and regular, the calyx and corolla imbricate, the ovary superior. The fruit is a roundish, bivalved capsule with 1 seed. There are 14 species, occurring on tropical coasts, mainly in mangrove forests at their ecological and geographical limits.