Depending on environmental factors, they are densely branched, or low and spreading bushes or short trees, with main stems that can be furcated and lie nearly prone, or develop into one erect trunk.

[5] Most Pemphis live either at the verges of mangrove forests, well away from the forest-ocean interface; or they colonize beaches behind the intertidal zone, taking hold on rocks, gravel or sand, laterite or limestone, and frequently on promontories or crags.

[5] They are not common, but far ranging from coastal, eastern Africa (including the Seychelles,[6] and the Zanzibar Archipelago[5]), states with Indian Ocean coastlines, to the Pacific (Philippines,[7] Cook Islands[8]), northwards up to Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands[4] Other places reporting Pemphis include mainland coastal Tanzania, Thailand, Malaysia (Johore), Singapore, Indonesia (Papua, Sumatra, the Moluccas, Madura and Java), Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong and throughout tropical Australia.

[5] Despite the difficulty presented for the prospective carver, wood from Pemphis species is highly prized for its extreme heaviness, toughness and resistance to warping.

It is usually fashioned into walking canes, fence posts, tool handles, and even anchors, exhibiting a fine finish.