The common name refers to the silvery appearance of the underside of the leaves, resembling a mirror to some degree.

[5] The trunk is light grey or grey-brown in appearance, smooth when young but developing vertical fissures as it ages.

They are oblong-elliptical to ovate-elliptical, dark green on the upper surface and the undersides are silvery-white to light brown due to the presence of stellate scales.

[3][4][5][6] The fruit is a flattened, ellipsoid, indehiscent, brown woody pod which is derived from the carpel, and contains a single seed.

[2] The genus name Heritiera was given in honour of the French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle.

[11] Regional common names for the tree include:[12][13] Heritiera littoralis's natural range is eastern Africa, Madagascar, India, Southeast Asia, Melanesia and the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia.

[5][6][16] The fruit of species in the genus is used in Philippine cuisine to neutralize the fishy taste in kinilaw, a local dish of raw fish in vinegar or citrus juices.