Tamanu

Tomano flowers adorn Nauru’s coat of arms – the tree once dominated the plateau forest before phosphate mining destroyed it.

Tamanu, known on Nauru as tomano, is a spreading tree growing to 20 m, with thick, glossy leaves marked by dense, parallel veins. It bears fragrant white flowers with numerous yellow stamens and round green fruits with a large seed, which is pressed for a medicinal oil. It tolerates salt, wind and drought superbly, so it grows on the coasts of tropical islands from East Africa to Polynesia. Its hard, durable wood was used to build canoes and houses.

Significance in the country

Nauru’s coat of arms, designed in 1968, the year the country gained independence, features a sprig with seven tomano flowers. The tree was the main component of the plateau forests before phosphate mining, and today it is planted in programmes to restore vegetation on degraded land.

Where it grows

On the coastal strip around the whole island and on surviving patches of the plateau, including around Buada Lagoon; planted near houses and on rehabilitated land.

More: Wikipedia (en)