Mak Lindawati preparing fruits of the Sonneratia alba tree. Courtesy of NTU CCA Singapore.
Sri Yulinda
Member of Pengudang Village, Teluk Sebong, Bintan
Member of Pengudang Village, Teluk Sebong, Bintan
Work-in-progress
Pioneers in the Mangrove Forests
Sri Yulinda, or as she introduced herself, Mak Lindawati, was one of the 40 attendees of a workshop held in Pengudang Village, Teluk Sebong, Bintan in 2024 organized by the Forestry Department of Riau Province. That was when she learnt how to make syrup with a mangrove tree she calls the “perepet”. As a housewife, this new skill enables her to supplement her family’s income through making and selling syrup made with the fruits of this tree.
Peeled fruits of the perepet tree. Courtesy of NTU CCA Singapore.
On the outside, the fruits are green and hard, with star-shaped sepals with pinkish edges. As Mak Lindawati and her friends peeled open the tough skin, the flesh of the perepet fruits is revealed to be a surprising vibrant pink. When eaten raw, this fruit is very sour.
The perepet, a mangrove tree that can be found along intertidal zones from East Africa to Southeast Asia and Australia, is a large tree that can be found can grow up to 15 to 20 meters in height when mature. When the tide comes in, the tree is still able to breathe through its roots that grow out from the mangrove soil. They are known as pneumatophores.
S. alba tree growing along the coast of Pengudang, Teluk Sebong, Bintan. Courtesy of NTU CCA Singapore.
According to State of the Mangroves 2024 report by the Global Mangrove Alliance, there are 82 species of mangrove trees in the world. These trees are found in different intertidal zones. The varying conditions of these zones, such as salinity, type of soil, amount of tidal flooding, influence the types of mangrove trees found.
Trees such as the Bruguiera and Nypa are typically found closer to land, whereas the S. alba tolerates water that is higher in salinity. Hence, it is typically found in the seaward zone on sandy soil. Scientists call such trees the pioneer mangrove species, due to their ability to grow first in intertidal environments, thereby stabilizing the soil for other trees to grow in the future.
Cone-shaped roots of the S. alba. Courtesy of NTU CCA Singapore.
Mangrove syrup made with the juice of the S. alba fruits. Courtesy of NTU CCA Singapore.
While Mak Lindawati says that the tree is easy to find near where she lives, the fruits are not. There is a season between March and September during which the trees begin their fruiting phase. After this period, fruits are rare to find. This affects when she can produce her syrup for sale at special occasions such as village community events and for tourist groups in Pengudang Village.
Due to the unique conditions that this mangrove tree experiences, such as high salinity and tidal flooding, mangrove trees produce novel plant compounds which have been studied for their medicinal properties. A paper that reviewed multiple databases on the medicinal uses of this tree found that the fruits have been used by traditional healers in Indonesia and India for treating wounds, diarrhea and fever.
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