Beach Barringtonia Boxfruits

These odd objects were found on the beaches at Normanby Island and Cape Tribulation on the Queensland Coast in Australia. They are large woody, angular fruits of the Beach Barringtonia mangrove tree (Barringtonia asiatica). As you can see from the photographs, they get washed up in varying stages of decomposition – anything from the perfect brown box shape with extended corners to a simple mass of fibrous material – sometimes with small sea creatures like colonial Bryozoa or stalked barnacles attached.

Box fruit from Barringtonia asiatica on sandy beach with pellets of the Bubbler Crab

Fibrous remains of a Boxfruit from the Beach Barringtonia mangrove tree on a coral beach

Box fruit from Barringtonia asiatica on sandy beach with pellets of the Sand Bubbler Crab

Worn specimen of a Boxfruit from the Beach Barringtonia mangrove tree on a coral beach

A Box Fruit from the Beach Barringtonia mangrove tree with encrusting seamat and goose barnacles

4 Replies to “Beach Barringtonia Boxfruits”

nannus says:

November 17, 2013 at 10:55 pm

I like these! Could become my favorite fruit 🙂

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winderjssc says:

November 18, 2013 at 7:08 am

I’m glad you like them …but I hope that ‘favourite’ doesn’t mean you would like to eat them as I think they could be a bit hard and indigestible; and the tree that bears the fruit is also called the Fish Poison Tree which doesn’t sound too good.

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nannus says:

November 18, 2013 at 7:33 am

Well, they don’t really look appetizing, but they are beautiful, as fresh fruits and in each stage of their decomposition.

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winderjssc says:

November 18, 2013 at 8:14 am

Yes, a wonderful shape. I would have liked to have opened a fresh one to see the seeds. The fruits do look stylishly ornamental and potentially functional. I wonder if people have actually hollowed them out to use as containers.

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