A tree that can grow up to 35m, though usually smaller, around 7-20m, it has a glabrous, smoothish trunk with reddish-brown bark that is sometimes fibrous, sometimes lightish brown or grey.

It has become extinct in Taiwan, and is naturalized in Florida The tree grows on intertidal mud-flats and estuaries, 0-2m (the elevation range between mean sea level and highest tide), on the less exposed parts of the coast, with a rainfall of 1000-8000mm.

The species grows on a wide range of soils, but does best in river estuaries, Salt water habitats on an alluvial sediment allows the tree to spread with its adventitious roots.

;[8] Thyanhngayth dialect, Awngthim language nhomb;[9] Sapek people, Supiori, Papua Province, Indonesia arouw[10] Batjamal benmerr;[11] Emi kunyme; Palau denges;[4] Indonesian: putut;[7] Malay: pokok tumu merah; Chinese: 木榄; Yue Chinese 木欖; Khmer prâsak' nhi, prâsak' toch, prâsak' tük;[5] Thai: พังกาหัวสุมดอกแดง;[7] Bengali: কাঁকড়া গাছ; Telugu (Andhra Pradesh) thuddu ponna, uredi;[4] Malayalam: പേനക്കണ്ടൽ;[7] Maldives bodu kaṇḍū, boda vaki.

Its uses in agroforestry include a woodlot, mulch/organic matter production, soil stabilization, coastal protection, windbreak, wildlife/marine food and habitat and bee forage.

For the Sowek people, living on Supiori Island, Papua Province, Indonesia, the fruit is a staple, or primary food, of their diet, due to its high carbohydrate content.

The fruits has antiviral properties, and bark extracts of the closely related Bruguiera sexangula are reportedly active against at least two types of cancerous tumors (Sarcoma 180 and Lewis lung carcinoma).

For working with leather, the bark has a high tannin content, but tends to colour excessively unless collected "at the end of each growing season".

[11] The reddish fine-textured wood used for local building in Cambodia, such constructions as huts, wharfs, fences, and fishery structures.