Sea randa

Description

Guettarda speciosa, with common names sea randa, or zebra wood,is a species of shrub in the family Rubiaceae found in coastal habitats in tropical areas around the Pacific Ocean, including the coastline of central and northern Queensland and Northern Territory in Australia, and Pacific Islands, including Micronesia, French Polynesia and Fiji, Malaysia and Indonesia, Maldives and the east coast of Africa. It reaches 6 m in height, has fragrant white flowers, and large green prominently-veined leaves. It grows in sand above the high tide mark. Guettarda speciosa was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in volume two of his Species Plantarum in 1753, citing Java as its origin. The genus was named in honour of the 18th century French naturalist Jean-Étienne Guettard, while the specific epithet is derived from the Latin speciosus 'showy'.It is the type species of the genus. Its closest relatives are all native to the neotropics, yet it has dispersed widely across tropical habitats worldwide. Alternate names in the Cook Islands include Ano, Hano, Fano, and Puapua. The last is also used in Samoa, and the similar Puopua in Tonga. It is known as utilomar in the Marshall Islands. It is a perennial shrub or small tree 2–6 m (7–20 ft) tall by 1–3 m (3.5–10 ft) wide with smooth creamy grey bark. The large oval-shaped leaves are 15–23 cm (6–9 in) long by 10–18 cm (4–7 in) wide. Dark green and smooth above with prominent paler veins, they are finely hairy underneath. Flowering is from October to May, the fragrant white flowers are 2.5–3 cm (1–1+1⁄4 in) long with 4–9 lobes. These are followed by sweet-smelling globular hard fruit, measuring 2.5 cm–2.8 cm × 2.2 cm–2.5 cm (0.98 in–1.10 in × 0.87 in–0.98 in), which mature September to March. Guettarda speciosa is found in coastal habitats in tropical areas around the Pacific Ocean, including the coastline of central and northern Queensland and Northern Territory in Australia, and Pacific Islands, including Micronesia, French Polynesia and Fiji, Malaysia and Indonesia, Maldives and the east coast of Africa. As its name suggests, the beach gardenia grows on beaches and sandy places above the high tide level. The timing of the flowers' opening at night suggests they are pollinated by moths.