Tavir / Grey Mangrove
Avicennia marina var. marina
Also known as Grey Avicennia
- Habit
- Tree
- Flowering
- March-July
How to identify Tavir
Identify Tavir by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Pencil-like breathing roots (pneumatophores).
- Confirm leaf shape: Elliptic, blunt tip.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glaucous (waxy blue-grey bloom).
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: March-July.
- Confirm it sits within the Verbenaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Tavir.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Avicennia marina var. marina
- Genus
- Avicennia
- Family
- Verbenaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Littoral forests
- Distribution
- Paleotropics
- Flowering & fruiting
- March-July
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Elliptic, blunt tiprecorded
- Leaf surface
- Glaucous (waxy blue-grey bloom)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Tavir itself; the rest are typical of the Verbenaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Drupe
Characters marked “recorded” are for Tavir itself; the rest are typical of the Verbenaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Tamil
- kanna, venkandan
- Kannada
- ipati
- Malayalam
- ഒറയി orayi
- Marathi
- तवीर tavir, तिवर tivar
About Tavir
Grey Mangrove (Avicennia marina var. marina) belongs to the Verbenaceae family, where it grows as a tree. It grows in littoral forests. Flowering and fruiting run from March to July.
Verbenaceae
Verbena/Teak family
Tavir belongs to the Verbenaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Verbenaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides