A highly attractive tree this one, with spiky red flowers and fruits fairly dancing down its branches like ribbons and crepe paper decoration. It prefers to grow along the edges of inland and coastal water bodies and is, therefore, referred to as freshwater mangrove. Clearly, it is among the trees that can be grown in sea-facing gardens and tolerates water-logging.
Modern research has shown it to possess antibiotic (especially against the peptic ulcer causing bacteria), antifungal, and antitumor activity. In its native range of South Asia, especially India, it has well-recorded historic usage as medicine against skin eruptions and gastrointestinal troubles.
The Samudraphal tree sometimes causes people to develop an itch. Investigation has shown it to be occasionally associated with a hairy caterpillar that is present along the underside of its leaves. It is this caterpillar that procures the itch and has made this gorgeous tree get an unflattering moniker of the Itchy Tree. It is the larval host plant of the Monkey Puzzle butterfly.