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ySAGARIBANAz (Botanical name: Barringtonia racemosa) A sagaribana tree likes silty soil near the mouth of a river which forms a mangrove forest along its banks. In July or August long flower axes with lots of round buds come out from the end of twigs. It starts to blossom in the evening and gives off a fragrance. Flowers fall in the morning. Amami-oshima is its northernmost habitat. Like a gekkabijin or night-blooming cereus, a sagaribana also diffuses a sweet smell into the air so that it will be pollinated by insects as soon as possible. I saw this flower seven or eight years ago for the first time. It was early morning and insects swarmed around the remaining flowers. Early August this year, I watched the flower around 9 p.m. at close range on a bank of the Yakugachi river and smelt its sweet aroma at first hand. The access was easy, still I had to watch my step because we have a nocturnal poisonous snake called HABU here in Amami. |
