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.
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!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Are you sure you are not a botanist or zoologist? I did both subjects in the U and I still cannot pronounce the name of the fruits.. haha.
How abt taking some pics of the Bats? That would be a great challenge, in addition to the fly by night eagle.
Perhaps the eagle was here for the bats! wow.. and a pic of the eagle chasing the bats should get you the next oscar!!!
Lend me your fancy supa-dupa Olympus E300 with 2×1G storage for a month and I’ll get those pics for you!! Eagle swoopin down on the bats while they feed on the nectar as a backdrop while you nonchalantly sip red wine on my jetty … I’ll not only get the Oscar but National Geograhic will be knocking down my doors!
Nice photo of Sonneratia alba!