Save the endangered Bakau tree!
Imagine that your house has been taken away…
Where would you live?
Where would you get clean food and water?
Where would you sleep?
How would you get shelter from the rain or sun?
Ultimately, without proper food, water, space, light and shelter, you would be seriously ill. It is the same thing with other living things. An animal or plant can die, or possibly become extinct if its habitat is destroyed or altered.
Mangroves are a mongst the world's most threatened habitats. In Singapore, most of our mangroves are protected and preserved. Nevertheless, the Bukau Kurap tree at Chek Jawa mangrove is a threatened plant. Let's find out more about this near-endangered tree!
Bakau kurap ( Rhizophora mucronata )
Location:
Chek Jawa (Singapore)
Adaptations:
The Bakau mangrove tree thrives best in wet and muddy grounds and grows aplenty at the mangrove swamps of Chek Jawa. You would not miss its distinctive arching prop-and-stilt roots. These roots play an important role in supporting the tree in soft mud and allowing the tree to take in air for its survival.
The water found in mangrove swamps contains a high concentration of salt. Luckily, the roots of the Bakau tree are able to filter out these salts so that the tree can get to enjoy ‘less salty' water. It is also interesting to note that any salt that happens to go through the roots are stored in old leaves which will be shed later on!
The Bakau tree also has thick and waxy leaves which store water. Its leaves have black polka dots on the underside, unlike the leaves of other mangrove trees. They are also fragrance-less and wither quite quickly.
Role in the habitat:
Some plants and animals (like mudskippers and crabs) make their homes in the Bakau tree's arching stilt and prop roots. So, if it becomes extinct someday, a lot of animals and plants are going to be homeless!
Uses:
Almost every part of the Bakau tree can be used! Some people said that the young shoots of the Bakau tree are edible and that its juice can be made into wine. Just do not consume the honey from its flowers, though – it is highly poisonous!
Although the timber of the Bakau tree is heavy and not that strong, it can be used to construct a lot of things (like pilings, poles, fish traps and house frames), but only after the timber has been dried out. In the olden days, the Bakau trees were commonly used in the construction and renovation of buildings.
What's more, the Bakau tree is perfect as firewood and charcoal since it produces an even heat.
It is used in the production of commercial paper and rayon (a kind of fabric) in Indonesia and East Malaysia.
Some people also believe in the healing properties of the Bakau tree. Various parts of this tree have been used to treat bleeding, digestion problems and other ailments.
Endangerment:
The Bakau seedlings grow from the tips of the branches, so whenever people collect a lot of these these branches for firewood or other uses, the Bakau trees are instantly destroyed like that. Besides, mangrove swamps are amongst the most threatened kind of habitat. This means that most plants and animals living in swamps are in danger as well.
Do you want to save the Bakau tree or even other threatened plants? Well, you can go on a guided tour to national parks and nature reserves (do it this June holidays!) and talk to the guides about threatened species and how they are being protected. When you are there, please obey these wildlife preservation rules:
• Don't bring along your pets.
• Do not remove any of the flowers, logs, nests, birds' eggs and bush rocks. Leave them where they are found.
• Don't leave your rubbish behind.
So, are you planning to visit Chek Jawa this June holidays? Well if you do, see if you can distinguish between the two common species of the Bakau tree:
Bakau minyak has a reddish leaf stalk.
Bakau kurap has a whitish stalk and the seedlings have pimply skin (in Malay, “kurap” means “full of warts”). Good luck!