Lumnitzera is an Indo-West Pacific
mangrove genus in the family Combretaceae. An English common name is
black mangrove.
Lumnitzera, named after the German botanist, Stephan Lumnitzer (1750-1806), occurs in mangroves from
East Africa to the Western Pacific (including Fiji and Tonga), and northern Australia. The genus has two species of similar vegetative appearance but with differing flower colour.
Lumnitzera littorea has red flowers whereas
Lumnitzera racemosa has white flowers. Both species have flat and spoon-shaped (spathulate) leaves with emarginate tips.
L. racemosa dominates in the western part of the range and
L. littorea dominates in the east. Hybrids occur within the zone of overlap (
Lumnitzera × rosea).